Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0% - Should You Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $286.25 and last traded at $287.67. 888,046 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 6,514,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $268.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $258.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.04, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 116,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,745,045.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.90, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,745,045.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,133,273 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,922,223,000 after acquiring an additional 736,986 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,251,592,000 after acquiring an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. 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.