Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $385.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $340.00 to $385.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the CRM provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $343.32.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE CRM traded down $1.89 on Thursday, reaching $265.03. The stock had a trading volume of 12,373,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,670,055. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $227.77 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $267.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. This is a positive change from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OMC Financial Services LTD raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 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.