Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $322.62 and last traded at $325.88. 1,742,933 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,136,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $329.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $336.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.79. The stock has a market cap of $311.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,705,195. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. 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.