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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price dropped 0.8% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $272.81 and last traded at $274.17. Approximately 1,043,263 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,642,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.32.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $82,310,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 907,149 shares of company stock worth $262,952,448. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $266.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.28, a PEG 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $298.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.89.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $2,499,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 47.5% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $506,875,000 after buying an additional 804,634 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.