Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 3.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 3.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $316.23 and last traded at $316.39. Approximately 2,461,033 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 4,229,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $326.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $307.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.82, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $335.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.53.

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, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. State Street Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.