Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sells 65 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 65 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $22,085.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,584 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,111.52. This trade represents a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $342.90. The company had a trading volume of 5,329,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,448,090. The company’s 50-day moving average is $323.14 and its 200-day moving average is $279.61. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $328.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Raymond James upped their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

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.