Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Earns “Neutral” Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their neutral rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $300.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $271.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $263.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $297.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.97. Salesforce has a one year low of $190.57 and a one year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total value of $4,152,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,293,833.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.11, for a total transaction of $2,841,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,323,891.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,293,833.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 628,184 shares of company stock worth $184,794,698. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.