Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $310.00 to $255.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the CRM provider's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.37.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $3.17 on Tuesday, reaching $267.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,649,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,803,872. The company has a market capitalization of $257.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. Salesforce has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $274.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.66, for a total transaction of $386,831.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,097,442.26. This trade represents a 11.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,051 shares of company stock worth $15,027,714. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,656,078,000 after buying an additional 175,035 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.