Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.6% - Should You Sell?

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $322.81 and last traded at $323.15. Approximately 775,105 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 6,294,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $322.51.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.61. The company has a market capitalization of $308.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock worth $41,250,680 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during 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 buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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