Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 5.6%
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) was down 5.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $277.13 and last traded at $277.82. Approximately 5,571,831 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 5,511,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.32.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley raised Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.26.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Price Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.38, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $298.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.77.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.
Insider Activity at Salesforce
In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total value of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,074,012. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total transaction of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,074,012. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 907,375 shares of company stock worth $262,519,346 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.
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.
Further Reading
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