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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price was down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $254.54 and last traded at $255.30. Approximately 1,626,063 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 6,943,178 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.10.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 2,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $524,680.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 509,952 shares of company stock worth $139,786,753. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie cut their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $259.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $248.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.08, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 7.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,607,493,000 after buying an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $910,220,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.