Citigroup Cuts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $295.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $320.00 to $295.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the CRM provider's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on CRM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $343.32.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7%

CRM stock traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.03. The stock had a trading volume of 12,373,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,790,605. The firm has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $216.06 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $267.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.75.

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

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total transaction of $197,005.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total transaction of $1,725,518.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,967,047.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,592,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $3,599,867,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.