Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Cut to “Sell” at Guggenheim

Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. Guggenheim currently has $247.00 price objective on the CRM provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $326.67 on Monday. Salesforce has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $312.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.73, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $334.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.26.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Salesforce

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.