Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.6% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) were down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $349.80 and last traded at $351.65. Approximately 1,506,683 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 6,382,591 shares. The stock had previously closed at $357.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $377.24.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $320.12 and its 200 day moving average is $277.44. 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 stock has a market cap of $335.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 134,298 shares of company stock worth $39,903,781. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.