Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 2.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $247.68 and last traded at $249.75. 1,408,913 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,780,868 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.42.

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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $291.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.42 billion, a PE ratio of 41.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 3,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $257.28 per share, for a total transaction of $998,760.96. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,967.04. This represents a 48.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,660 shares of company stock worth $14,095,336 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,144,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 19.2% in the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 112.8% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 16,883 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,621,000 after purchasing an additional 8,949 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 5.5% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 193,314 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $52,912,000 after buying an additional 10,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 4.2% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,654,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.