Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 1.5% during trading on Friday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $425.00 to $375.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $312.62 and last traded at $313.74. Approximately 1,719,641 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 6,077,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.43.

CRM has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $333.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

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.