Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 2.1% – Should You Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $330.95 and last traded at $334.51. Approximately 2,541,322 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 6,293,202 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.23.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $319.28 billion, a PE ratio of 58.02, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $283.28 and its 200-day moving average is $265.84.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total value of $1,060,644.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.