Salesforce’s (CRM) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group restated their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $300.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Northland Capmk lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Salesforce from $380.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.54.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $260.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $221.96 and a 12 month high of $367.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $243.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.64.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director David Blair Kirk bought 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $254.66 per share, for a total transaction of $865,844.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,824 shares in the company, valued at $973,819.84. The trade was a 801.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total value of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,803,314.90. The trade was a 49.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 184,284 shares of company stock valued at $43,862,999. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 3,343 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. KDT Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the first quarter. KDT Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 5,850 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 607 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 39 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.