Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.6%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $264.78 and last traded at $265.25. Approximately 1,160,743 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,546,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho cut their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $254.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.89 billion, a PE ratio of 47.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,702.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,891 shares of company stock valued at $16,306,944 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its holdings in Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after buying an additional 18,397 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Salesforce by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after purchasing an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the period. 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.