Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 0.9% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $318.42 and last traded at $321.70. 1,871,113 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 6,073,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.53.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.84.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $334.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.76.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in 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.