Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 4% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded down 4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $272.52 and last traded at $273.30. 1,978,145 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,978,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.62.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $268.85 billion, a PE ratio of 46.01, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $318.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.70.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 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.