Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $405.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $330.00 to $405.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 22.07% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $354.17.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $331.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $271.14. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) 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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after buying an additional 994,670 shares during the period. 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.