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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 0.1% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $273.32 and last traded at $274.15. Approximately 712,215 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,599,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $274.29.

Specifically, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $2,852,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at $17,230,643.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $2,852,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,230,643.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 610,793 shares of company stock worth $179,074,618. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $295.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.87 billion, a PE ratio of 64.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.