Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Raised to "Neutral" at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

CRM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $357.49.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE CRM traded up $9.11 on Monday, reaching $252.50. 2,739,032 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,026,121. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $242.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.53, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $277.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.