Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 3.1% – Here’s Why

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price traded down 3.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $183.00 and last traded at $186.9590. 11,190,601 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 13,756,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wedbush assumed coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Guggenheim upgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $228.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Susquehanna initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (down from $287.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.51.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.26. The stock has a market cap of $157.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The CRM provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.75. Salesforce had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 18.73%.The company had revenue of $11.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 14.060-14.120 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 3.250-3.270 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 20.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,548,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 4,239 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 6,186 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the third quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 2,035 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 745 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.