Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.5% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $289.00 and last traded at $291.49. 560,640 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,385,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $292.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.66.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4 %

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 company has a market cap of $275.61 billion, a PE ratio of 51.44, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $268.12 and its 200-day moving average is $263.09.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total transaction of $249,422.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,380,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.78, for a total value of $249,422.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,380,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. 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 85,502 shares of company stock valued at $23,045,186 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. XN LP grew its holdings in Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 27.5% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at $2,178,000. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in Salesforce by 38.0% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 4.1% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.