Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 2.1% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 2.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $330.95 and last traded at $334.51. 2,541,322 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 6,293,202 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $310.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $286.61 and its 200-day moving average is $266.64.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,920,275.57. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $910,220,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $733,805,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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 period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.