Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given New $400.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target increased by Needham & Company LLC from $375.00 to $400.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of CRM opened at $326.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $334.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.26. Salesforce has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $312.62 billion, a PE ratio of 53.73, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Michael S. Ryan Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $226,000. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 13,326 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 142,741 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $47,723,000 after purchasing an additional 52,104 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,541 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,812,000. 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.