Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Cut to $350.00 by Analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective decreased by Canaccord Genuity Group from $400.00 to $350.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Guggenheim raised Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.59.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $275.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $264.45 billion, a PE ratio of 45.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.79. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,071,750. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. The trade was a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.