Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0% – Here’s What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was down 0% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $313.80 and last traded at $317.78. Approximately 1,099,133 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 4,370,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $317.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $307.21 billion, a PE ratio of 52.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $336.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.66.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued 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 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $733,805,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after buying an additional 877,495 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.