Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.4% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $266.55 and last traded at $267.78. Approximately 895,718 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,574,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.94.

Specifically, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $2,852,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at $17,230,643.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total value of $2,852,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,230,643.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 614,993 shares of company stock worth $180,212,524. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Argus lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $260.63 billion, a PE ratio of 63.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $295.04 and a 200-day moving average of $265.67.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.