Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.3% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price dropped 0.3% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $277.73 and last traded at $278.78. Approximately 844,115 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,529,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.48.

Specifically, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.75, for a total value of $1,141,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $32,206,179.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at $376,624.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $257.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $270.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

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 net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 197,395 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $54,029,000 after buying an additional 12,314 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 28,142 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,703,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Weybosset Research & Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Weybosset Research & Management LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,044 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 6,076 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently 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.