Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 0.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $287.42 and last traded at $289.12. Approximately 1,182,086 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,866,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $352.62.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $272.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.02. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,306 shares of company stock worth $12,841,368 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $23,592,501,000 after buying an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.