Salesforce’s (CRM) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $345.00 price target on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $245.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.24. 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 $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 2,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,712,165.94. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,892 shares of company stock valued at $15,269,897. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.