Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 0.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $287.92 and last traded at $288.29. Approximately 525,073 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 6,475,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $261.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.29. The company has a market capitalization of $275.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 116,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $2,359,560.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total value of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,283,087. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,922,223,000 after acquiring an additional 736,986 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.