Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 3% – What’s Next?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares were down 3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $253.09 and last traded at $254.2960. Approximately 10,224,661 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 30% from the average daily volume of 7,841,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.46.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $245.50 and its 200-day moving average is $251.92. The firm has a market cap of $238.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.39. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.The firm had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 22.16%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 96,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,994,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $780,309,155.22. This trade represents a 3.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total transaction of $31,605,171.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 139,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. This represents a 49.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,284 shares of company stock valued at $41,648,819. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,572,253 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $21,228,624,000 after purchasing an additional 748,772 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,420,657 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $11,732,966,000 after buying an additional 159,739 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,669,224,000 after acquiring an additional 114,504 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Salesforce by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,051,119 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,753,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,440 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 159.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,325,206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,106,255,000 after acquiring an additional 10,636,161 shares during the last quarter. 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.