Salesforce’s (CRM) Buy Rating Reiterated at Truist Financial

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a $315.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $300.00.

Several other research firms have also commented on CRM. Phillip Securities reiterated an accumulate rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $266.80 on Thursday. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 63,891 shares of company stock valued at $16,306,944. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.