Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.7% After Insider Selling

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

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.43, for a total value of $4,386,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,521,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,953,994,573.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.22, for a total value of $1,164,324.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,091,541.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.43, for a total value of $4,386,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,521,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,953,994,573.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 624,193 shares of company stock valued at $182,212,898. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine equities research 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 stock currently 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $293.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.99. The company has a market cap of $265.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 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.