Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Lowered to $350.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $367.00 to $350.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CRM. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $335.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.90.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $8.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $267.36. The stock had a trading volume of 28,033,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,033,617. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $268.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.79. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $257.03 billion, a PE ratio of 43.97, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 125,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,331.45. The trade was a 4.06% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,066 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,028,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 1,647 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.