Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded down 1.4% during trading on Thursday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $330.00 to $300.00. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $292.67 and last traded at $303.08. 7,218,852 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 6,463,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $307.33.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 16,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.68, for a total transaction of $5,616,791.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $566,210.16. This represents a 90.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $329.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.21.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. 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 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.16%.

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.