Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares dropped 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $316.97 and last traded at $322.85. Approximately 2,191,472 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 6,226,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $311.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $338.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,023 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,363,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,026 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 113.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 410,057 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $137,094,000 after purchasing an additional 217,689 shares during the period. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 290.0% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 24,935 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,337,000 after buying an additional 18,542 shares in the last quarter. 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.