BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target boosted by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $305.00 to $385.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 18.37% from the stock’s current price.

CRM has been the subject of several other research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $325.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $286.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.64. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $310.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,624.16. This trade represents a 87.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in 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 period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,387,000 after buying an additional 10,656 shares during the period. XN LP raised its position in Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.