Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.4% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $332.41 and last traded at $334.33. Approximately 3,019,020 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 6,379,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 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 note on Wednesday, December 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $316.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,181,807.88. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock valued at $405,971,793. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $327,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.6% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 3,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 202.7% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares in the last quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $2,684,000. Finally, Pursue Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pursue Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. 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.