Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.7% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $287.42 and last traded at $289.12. 1,182,086 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 6,866,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $351.59.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.3%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $268.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.02. 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 company has a market capitalization of $276.11 billion, a PE ratio of 47.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,220,525. This represents a 4.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,306 shares of company stock worth $12,841,368 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $23,592,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $3,599,867,000. 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.