Salesforce’s (CRM) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $325.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $260.79 on Friday. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $230.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.31 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,992 shares of company stock valued at $6,704,198 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Mainstream Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,082 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,369,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in Salesforce by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,035 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.