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

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $375.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.1 %

Salesforce stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $337.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,178,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,391,005. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $321.11 and a 200 day moving average of $277.86. The stock has a market cap of $322.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.51, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.