Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 6.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) fell 6.4% during trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $425.00 to $347.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $254.50 and last traded at $258.45. 11,489,594 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 65% from the average session volume of 6,971,463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.03.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CRM. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Salesforce from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total transaction of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin L. Washington purchased 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,799,331.45. This trade represents a 4.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,913,628 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $23,592,501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $249.54 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $268.16 and a 200-day moving average of $305.79. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.10%.

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.

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