Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $425.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $337.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,178,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,391,005. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.51, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $321.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total value of $249,422.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,380,136.92. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.