Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 3.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded down 3.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $282.92 and last traded at $283.91. 2,526,496 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 6,707,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $293.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $328.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $308.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.76 billion, a PE ratio of 47.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robin L. Washington purchased 1,695 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.