Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $250.00 target price on the CRM provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.21% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Salesforce from $248.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Salesforce from $245.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Salesforce from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Salesforce from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.59.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE CRM traded down $3.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $215.12. 3,559,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,000,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $217.97 and its 200-day moving average is $205.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.19. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $126.34 and a twelve month high of $238.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The CRM provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 4.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.05, for a total value of $36,908.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,861.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.05, for a total transaction of $36,908.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,861.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total value of $3,520,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,401,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,849,517,671.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 698,191 shares of company stock worth $152,203,804 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 374.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 128 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 132.8% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 149 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 77.52% 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 relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.