Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 1.6% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $331.61 and last traded at $333.11. Approximately 669,699 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 6,381,534 shares. The stock had previously closed at $338.45.

Specifically, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $321.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.22, a PEG 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $328.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.