Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.7% on Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) were down 0.7% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $338.87 and last traded at $341.80. Approximately 1,107,690 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,947,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.14.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $332.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.14, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $338.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% in 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 buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after buying an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares in 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.