Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.8%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $251.09 and last traded at $252.29. Approximately 2,385,649 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 6,901,455 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $243.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.44, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.75, for a total transaction of $1,061,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,494,155.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 454,152 shares of company stock worth $122,552,011 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 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.