Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Upgraded at KeyCorp

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $440.00 target price on the CRM provider's stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CRM. Northland Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $377.24.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $5.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $352.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,862,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,400,180. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.73 billion, a PE ratio of 58.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $316.14 and a 200 day moving average of $275.00. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,498 shares of company stock valued at $40,983,349 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.