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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price fell 0.7% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $338.87 and last traded at $341.80. 1,107,690 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 5,947,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $344.14.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,705,195. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 5.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $316.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $339.04 and its 200 day moving average is $299.65.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.