Needham & Company LLC Boosts Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target to $400.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target lifted by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $375.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the CRM provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.45% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $326.67 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.53. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.62 billion, a PE ratio of 53.73, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.