Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 4.3% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares dropped 4.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $318.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $339.04 and its 200 day moving average is $299.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction 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 $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.