Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Falls 1.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $225.15 and last traded at $225.8660. Approximately 6,580,760 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 13,213,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, October 12th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Salesforce from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.98.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $185.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $238.94 and its 200-day moving average is $198.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.91 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, Director David Blair Kirk purchased 4,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $239.33 per share, for a total transaction of $999,442.08. Following the purchase, the director owned 18,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This represents a 28.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total transaction of $1,172,745.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,416,936.57. This trade represents a 45.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the third quarter. Thor Investment Management Inc. OH ADV now owns 6,422 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 9.6% in the third quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 558 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 3,396 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,549 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.