Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.7% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 1.7% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $271.07 and last traded at $274.19. 1,586,510 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 5,457,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.97.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,040,011.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 624,193 shares of company stock worth $182,005,898 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock 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 firm has a market capitalization of $266.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.52, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $292.87 and its 200-day moving average is $268.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after acquiring an additional 121,436 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,762,331,000. 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.