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

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $354.00, but opened at $340.90. Salesforce shares last traded at $343.21, with a volume of 1,611,660 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.37. 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 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.