Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $345.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $278.02 and last traded at $276.89. 1,455,012 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,337,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $280.75.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $364.14.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,331.45. This represents a 4.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,173,564,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $317.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.53.

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.