Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 2.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 2.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $249.91 and last traded at $249.98. Approximately 2,405,744 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,207,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $256.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.50.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $257.20 and its 200 day moving average is $268.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.56, for a total transaction of $559,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,960,740,087.76. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 59,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,738 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,292 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,446,000 after buying an additional 4,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 6,203 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by 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.