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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $405.00 to $393.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the CRM provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and set a $247.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $360.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $246.93. The stock had a trading volume of 5,564,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,783,193. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.60. Salesforce has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. 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 has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. 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 yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This represents a 16.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,654 shares of company stock worth $14,124,094 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,809,000. Broderick Brian C grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 58.1% in the first quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 10,696 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 9.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 0.7% in the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,392 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

About Salesforce

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.