Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $300.00 to $420.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 17.35% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $370.50.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $26.47 on Wednesday, reaching $357.90. 15,265,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,353,172. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $368.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $342.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.68, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 51.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after acquiring an additional 994,670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.