Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.8% After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $272.81 and last traded at $274.17. Approximately 1,043,263 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,642,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.32.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total value of $4,152,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,559,293,833.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,559,293,833.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 628,184 shares of company stock worth $184,794,698. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $262.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $297.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $506,875,000 after buying an additional 804,634 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.