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

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

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an outperform rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $264.21 on Friday. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.55 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 70,633 shares of company stock worth $18,100,349 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $874,748,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $564,188,000. 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.