JMP Securities Reaffirms “Market Outperform” Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reissued by analysts at JMP Securities in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $450.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective points to a potential upside of 28.62% from the company’s current price.

CRM has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.2 %

CRM stock opened at $349.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $320.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.44. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $334.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.21, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total value of $1,526,771.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,723.86. The trade was a 77.52 % 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 link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.