Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

Get Our Latest Report on CRM

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $326.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.73, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $334.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 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 $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Analyst Recommendations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Receive News & Ratings for Salesforce Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Salesforce and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.