Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.7% After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price dropped 0.7% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $338.87 and last traded at $341.80. Approximately 1,107,690 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,947,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.14.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $327.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $338.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 6.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 197,395 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $54,029,000 after purchasing an additional 12,314 shares during the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 3.7% in the third quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $219,000. Greenfield Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $379,000. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.