Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 3.3% – Time to Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 3.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $340.00 and last traded at $342.23. Approximately 3,118,344 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 6,085,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $354.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $338.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 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.