Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $351.82 and last traded at $353.74. 2,303,895 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 6,043,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $339.17 billion, a PE ratio of 58.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.