Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $345.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Salesforce traded as low as $276.08 and last traded at $278.82. Approximately 1,197,746 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 7,014,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.40.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $364.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,799,331.45. This represents a 4.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nvest Financial LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $317.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.53. 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 $269.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

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.