Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.6%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price dropped 0.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $270.12 and last traded at $271.99. Approximately 832,523 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,530,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital restated a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.03.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $264.22 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 67,985 shares of company stock worth $17,632,363 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 407,834 shares in 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.