Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $263.00 and last traded at $263.29. 2,413,524 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 6,526,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $265.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $253.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.00. The company has a market capitalization of $257.87 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,922,223,000 after acquiring an additional 736,986 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.