Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $275.00 to $330.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Securities upgraded Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.37.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.2 %

CRM opened at $341.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $279.53 and a 200 day moving average of $264.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $211.76 and a 12 month high of $348.86. The firm has a market cap of $326.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.