Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.1% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 0.1% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $329.60 and last traded at $332.17. 1,116,269 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 5,151,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.62.

Specifically, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This trade represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $336.73 and its 200 day moving average is $294.01. The firm has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.