Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 0.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $288.49 and last traded at $289.17. 916,265 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,369,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $267.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.18. The stock has a market cap of $279.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total value of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,251,239.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,110 shares of company stock valued at $20,292,760 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,557,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $230,000. Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $418,000. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Exchange Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $229,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.