Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price fell 1.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $349.80 and last traded at $351.65. 1,506,683 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 6,382,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $357.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.24.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.7 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $336.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total transaction of $1,526,771.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at $442,723.86. This represents a 77.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. 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 valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after buying an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.