Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $400.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $294.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $330.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.89. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.