Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded down 1.1% on Monday . The company traded as low as $331.26 and last traded at $337.90. 1,720,220 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,078,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade 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. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.