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

Key Points

• Salesforce Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 42 analysts, with an average 1-year target price of $348.16.
• In its recent quarterly earnings report, Salesforce beat expectations with $2.58 EPS and revenue of $9.83 billion, reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.6%.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 25.98%.

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the forty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, twenty-seven have given a buy recommendation and four have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $348.1579.

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CRM opened at $240.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $229.53 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.37. The company's fifty day moving average is $263.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.75. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $230.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.40, for a total transaction of $558,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,958,834,236.40. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,479 shares of company stock worth $12,457,591. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Painted Porch Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 260.0% during the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 450.0% during 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. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 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.

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