Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRMGet Free Report) shares dropped 1.1% on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $320.00 to $295.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $259.14 and last traded at $262.50. Approximately 2,398,584 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 6,654,100 shares. The stock had previously closed at $265.37.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Salesforce from $367.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.34.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Salesforce

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 6,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.00, for a total transaction of $1,975,615.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 41,422 shares in the company, valued at $12,219,490. This represents a 13.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $931,430.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 125,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,614,048.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,332 shares of company stock worth $11,024,802. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 35.1% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 636 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 344,887 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $93,016,000 after buying an additional 81,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $100,472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.58. 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 company has a market cap of $254.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRMGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is an increase from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.98%.

About Salesforce

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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.

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