Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded down 1.5% on Friday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $425.00 to $375.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $312.62 and last traded at $313.74. 1,719,641 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,077,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.43.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. 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 worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $1,173,564,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,325,156 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

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’s fifty day simple moving average is $333.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.25. The company has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.