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

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $288.49 and last traded at $289.17. Approximately 916,265 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 6,369,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $267.44 and a 200 day moving average of $263.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $279.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.96, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total transaction of $245,767.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.63, for a total value of $245,767.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,110 shares of company stock valued at $20,292,760. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. XN LP raised its holdings in Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after acquiring an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,284,000 after buying an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter worth about $2,178,000. First Foundation Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 4.1% during the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 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.