Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $331.26 and last traded at $337.90. 1,720,220 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,078,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $338.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $332.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued 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 0.46%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. 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.