Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $334.22 and last traded at $335.02. 597,021 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,369,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $320.42 billion, a PE ratio of 55.07, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $328.28 and its 200 day moving average is $283.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,194,444 shares of company stock worth $408,331,353 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% in the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $463,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $15,894,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.