Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price dropped 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $289.00 and last traded at $291.49. Approximately 560,640 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 6,385,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $292.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $281.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.20.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 78,575 shares of company stock worth $20,923,258. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. XN LP boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 27.5% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $2,178,000. First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 38.0% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,757,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is 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.