Salesforce's (CRM) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $400.00 price objective on the CRM provider's stock.

CRM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $335.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.90.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.1%

CRM traded down $8.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $267.36. The stock had a trading volume of 28,044,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,008,370. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $268.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.79. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nvest Financial LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.