Loop Capital Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Loop Capital from $360.00 to $330.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the CRM provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on CRM. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.53.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $8.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $309.54. The company had a trading volume of 7,341,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,249,096. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $333.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.25. 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 market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% 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.