Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.9% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $272.35 and last traded at $273.14. 1,169,548 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 5,581,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.74.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.93, for a total transaction of $1,137,906.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 115,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,363,398.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 614,993 shares of company stock valued at $180,212,524. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew 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 worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,762,331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.