Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded down 1.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $324.93 and last traded at $326.19. 2,267,937 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 6,297,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $331.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $286.61 and its 200 day moving average is $266.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,464,622.79. This represents a 2.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,178,000. First Foundation Advisors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 38.0% in the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,126.0% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 9,367 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,821,000 after acquiring an additional 8,603 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Salesforce by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Rockport Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $598,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.