The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $340.00 to $385.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stephens started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.90.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $267.36 on Thursday. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $267.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.28. The company has a market cap of $257.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.97, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total transaction of $543,263.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,599.80. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce 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 owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. OMC Financial Services LTD boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 33 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.