Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $255.00 at Sanford C. Bernstein

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $243.00 to $255.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underperform" rating on the CRM provider's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.78% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.21.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7%

CRM traded down $1.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $265.03. 12,373,506 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,790,645. The stock has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $216.06 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $267.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.28.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This represents a 4.09% 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. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,173,564,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.