Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.7% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price traded down 0.7% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $249.20 and last traded at $250.74. 1,371,814 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,662,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.53.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 202,136 shares of company stock valued at $52,228,109. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $247.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $248.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.40.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,268,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its stake in Salesforce by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. 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.