Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $354.00, but opened at $340.90. Salesforce shares last traded at $343.21, with a volume of 1,611,660 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.