Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.32.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $301.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,329,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,927,168. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $182.65 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.82, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $289.88 and a 200-day moving average of $248.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.70, for a total transaction of $2,657,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,905,067.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.12, for a total transaction of $4,441,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,161,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,897,284,475.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.70, for a total value of $2,657,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,905,067.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,134,112 shares of company stock worth $314,768,392 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.