Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.9% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 0.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $323.92 and last traded at $327.46. 1,638,237 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 3,999,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.39.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $333.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.43. The company has a market cap of $312.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 421.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 165,858 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $42,633,000 after buying an additional 134,079 shares in the last quarter. Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 34.6% during the second quarter. Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,263 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.0% during the second quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 1,238 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 97,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,077,000 after buying an additional 12,227 shares in the last quarter. 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.