UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $320.00 to $300.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CRM. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.21.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of CRM stock traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $265.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,373,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,029,772. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $267.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 25.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,323 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,219.12. The trade was a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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.