BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its target price lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $350.00 to $335.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the CRM provider's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Northland Securities cut their price target on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of CRM traded down $5.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $258.23. 7,004,264 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,547,931. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $272.09 and its 200-day moving average is $288.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $246.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a $0.416 dividend. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 12,211 shares in the company, valued at $3,097,442.26. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,284 shares of company stock valued at $9,444,537. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,020,194,000 after buying an additional 3,789,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,604,770,000 after buying an additional 2,325,156 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.