Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 0.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $276.01 and last traded at $279.06. 831,545 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,852,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $280.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.74.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $311.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $310.74. 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 capitalization of $267.59 billion, a PE ratio of 45.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Millham sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $1,120,391.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,570,312.44. The trade was a 41.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,875 shares of company stock worth $13,580,649 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.