Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 1.2% during trading on Wednesday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $360.00 to $330.00. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $323.80 and last traded at $325.04. 1,114,803 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,084,210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $328.96.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on CRM. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.84.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $310.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $335.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.