Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.59.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of CRM opened at $273.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.55. Salesforce has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,799,331.45. This represents a 4.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $1,173,564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.