Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Insider R David Schmaier Sells 6,959 Shares

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

R David Schmaier also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 26th, R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $2.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $246.93. 5,564,231 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,762,078. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $284.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $309.74. The company has a market cap of $237.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.32.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,599,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,422,979,000 after buying an additional 3,841,521 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,020,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789,147 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $1,173,564,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,791,015 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,604,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325,156 shares during the period. 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.