Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-three brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $310.61.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Argus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho restated a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $276.63. 6,283,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,718,907. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $296.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.28. The company has a market capitalization of $268.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $190.57 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 393 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $110,040.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 393 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $110,040.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.79, for a total value of $4,211,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,671,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,838,726,701.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 611,379 shares of company stock valued at $179,698,420 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,270,144,000 after acquiring an additional 121,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $2,762,331,000. 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.