Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.7% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 1.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $351.82 and last traded at $353.74. 2,303,895 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 6,043,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $359.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $338.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (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%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $638,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 130.7% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 187,072 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 105,972 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.5% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23.4% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 12,464 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,204,000 after buying an additional 2,365 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.