Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 3% – Should You Sell?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded down 3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $253.09 and last traded at $254.2960. 10,224,661 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 7,841,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $262.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Northland Capmk cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.46.

Salesforce Trading Down 3.0%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $245.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.92. The company has a market cap of $238.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $10.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.27 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 14.41%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.16%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.00, for a total transaction of $31,598.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,085,096,889. This represents a 0.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit bought 96,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,994,509 shares in the company, valued at $780,309,155.22. This represents a 3.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 175,284 shares of company stock valued at $41,648,819 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farmers National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 1,179 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in Salesforce by 142.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 3,420 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 11,416 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Salesforce by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 560,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $132,698,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 22,914 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by 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.