Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.9% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price dropped 1.9% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $246.93 and last traded at $247.35. Approximately 2,619,177 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 7,504,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.06.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.12, for a total value of $565,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,233,709.52. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $543,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,876,644,396.50. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Salesforce from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.58.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $234.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.79 and a 200 day moving average of $265.23.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.56 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 24.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 32,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,436 shares in the last quarter. Notis McConarty Edward boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,036,482 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,802,000 after acquiring an additional 15,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 104,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,133,000 after acquiring an additional 31,537 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is 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.