Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.3%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $259.68 and last traded at $259.86. 1,198,255 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,897,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down previously from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays cut their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $257.56 and a 200 day moving average of $276.24. The firm has a market cap of $244.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.30, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total transaction of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,928,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,539,948.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total transaction of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,928,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,539,948.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,848.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 454,152 shares of company stock valued at $122,552,011. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Salesforce

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.