Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded down 0.1% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $299.63 and last traded at $301.21. 1,034,439 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 5,699,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $301.38.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.61, for a total value of $3,774,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,896,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,496,414,327.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 898,507 shares of company stock valued at $255,293,063. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.0 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $293.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.75. The company has a market capitalization of $292.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Finally, Starboard Value LP bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $401,215,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.