Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s Why

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 3.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $316.23 and last traded at $316.39. 2,461,033 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 4,229,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $307.31 billion, a PE ratio of 52.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $335.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.53.

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 business 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%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.