Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Outperform” Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $385.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $330.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.11.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $336.95. 1,161,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,281,895. The stock has a market cap of $322.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.47, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.20. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,183 shares of company stock worth $38,314,066 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 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.