Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $273.32 and last traded at $274.15. Approximately 712,215 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,599,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $274.29.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 610,793 shares of company stock worth $179,074,618. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $295.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.65. The stock has a market cap of $260.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.