Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.3% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was down 0.3% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $284.62 and last traded at $287.20. Approximately 847,138 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,489,650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.92.

Specifically, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,181,807.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $261.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $275.42 billion, a PE ratio of 50.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 481,107 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $126,598,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,425 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,758,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 110.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,394,912 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $893,336,000 after buying an additional 1,780,421 shares during the last quarter. 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.