Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Rating Reiterated by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Wolfe Research currently has a $365.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $270.45 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $190.57 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,848.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total value of $2,009,016.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,074,012. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,848.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 628,184 shares of company stock worth $184,794,698. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 21.7% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $2,499,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.