Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was down 4.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $329.10 and last traded at $332.94. Approximately 5,795,233 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 6,075,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $338.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.36. The company has a market capitalization of $311.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. RBA Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% in the third quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 77,140 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $21,114,000 after buying an additional 4,744 shares during the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,370,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $1,136,000. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,031.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 12,296 shares during the period. 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.