Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.4% on Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 0.4% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $266.55 and last traded at $267.78. Approximately 895,718 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,574,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.94.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 610,793 shares of company stock valued at $179,074,618 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.4 %

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 fifty day moving average is $295.34 and its 200-day moving average is $265.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 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.