Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.7%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $253.04 and last traded at $255.15. 1,852,854 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,583,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.00.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $245.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,964 shares of company stock valued at $27,956,647. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.