JMP Securities Reiterates Market Outperform Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $450.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $337.49. 1,178,600 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,391,005. The firm has a market capitalization of $322.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $321.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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 has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 $31,380,136.92. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in 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% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during 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 worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.