Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $353.42 and last traded at $353.76. Approximately 1,575,072 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 6,389,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.86.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

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 stock has a market cap of $336.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $311.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.32.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,498 shares of company stock worth $40,983,349. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.