Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Receives $310.61 Average Target Price from Analysts

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $310.61.

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1 %

Salesforce stock opened at $273.09 on Tuesday. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $264.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $296.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.65, for a total transaction of $4,149,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,782,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,536,230,764.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 620,793 shares of company stock worth $182,177,918 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.