Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) gapped down before the market opened on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $294.32, but opened at $282.94. Salesforce shares last traded at $284.16, with a volume of 2,568,332 shares traded.

Specifically, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.11, for a total value of $2,841,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,323,891.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.74, for a total value of $4,436,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,928,721 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,539,948.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.11, for a total value of $2,841,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,323,891.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 897,375 shares of company stock valued at $260,206,096 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 21st. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $269.09 billion, a PE ratio of 66.05, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.