Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $250.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price objective reduced by DA Davidson from $275.00 to $250.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

CRM has been the subject of several other reports. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Stephens started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.76.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $254.04 on Monday. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 50 day moving average price of $287.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.78, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % 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, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,314 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $52,912,000 after buying an additional 10,084 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 4.2% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.2% in the third quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 7,332 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 15.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 7,047 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is 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.