Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.7% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $295.25 and last traded at $295.91. Approximately 1,022,153 shares changed 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’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 Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,586,572.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $283.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $273.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. XN LP increased its stake in Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,178,000. First Foundation Advisors increased its stake in Salesforce by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $523,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.