Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.8% After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price fell 0.8% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $284.65 and last traded at $285.99. 728,372 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 6,352,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.33.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total value of $1,213,044.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,229,213.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $268.70 and its 200-day moving average is $263.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.70, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.