Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Now Covered by Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $325.00 target price on the CRM provider's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on CRM. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.34.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:CRM traded down $1.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $262.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,368,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,616,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.23, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.58. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This trade represents a 4.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 90 shares in 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.