Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $334.22 and last traded at $335.02. 597,021 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 6,369,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $319.95 billion, a PE ratio of 54.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $331.09 and its 200 day moving average is $285.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,181,807.88. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock worth $405,971,793 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $463,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $15,894,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.