Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $345.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $276.08 and last traded at $278.82. 1,197,746 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,014,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.40.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $364.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,331.45. This represents a 4.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $118,113,000. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 5,736 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 43,625.0% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $869,000. Finally, IronOak Wealth LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,271,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $270.78 billion, a PE ratio of 46.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $318.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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.