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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $375.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.83% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $351.01 on Wednesday. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $335.92 billion, a PE ratio of 57.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $320.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.44.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total value of $249,422.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,380,136.92. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 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.