Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.7% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price dropped 0.7% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $295.25 and last traded at $295.91. Approximately 1,022,153 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 6,244,034 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.01.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James upped their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.37.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.36. The firm has a market cap of $283.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 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.