Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 0% during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $340.83 and last traded at $342.75. 531,327 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 6,423,873 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.90.

Specifically, COO Brian Millham sold 16,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.68, for a total value of $5,616,791.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $566,210.16. The trade was a 90.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 15,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.55, for a total transaction of $5,228,464.15. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,898,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,087,239.95. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

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’s 50 day moving average price is $324.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.32. The firm has a market cap of $329.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 7.3% in the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 28.0% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $463,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $15,894,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.