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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 0.1% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $257.33 and last traded at $258.60. 7,018,649 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 6,565,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.90.

Specifically, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.90, for a total transaction of $1,104,180.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,912,044.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total value of $1,060,644.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $977,122.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.65.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $251.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $253.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.63.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.19. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.