Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 0.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $323.22 and last traded at $325.80. 1,181,278 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,185,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $337.91 and a 200-day moving average of $302.13. The stock has a market cap of $314.44 billion, a PE ratio of 54.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. 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 released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.