Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 1.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $324.93 and last traded at $326.19. 2,267,937 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 6,297,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $331.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $284.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.30. The stock has a market cap of $311.90 billion, a PE ratio of 56.73, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. This represents a 44.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $910,220,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after buying an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.