Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.8% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $272.81 and last traded at $274.17. Approximately 1,043,263 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,642,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.32.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,857,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,559,293,833.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,559,293,833.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 628,184 shares of company stock worth $184,794,698. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $262.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $297.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.43.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.