Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.5% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares dropped 1.5% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $336.68 and last traded at $338.42. Approximately 1,378,509 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,431,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $343.65.

Specifically, COO Brian Millham sold 16,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.68, for a total value of $5,616,791.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $566,210.16. This trade represents a 90.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 15,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.55, for a total value of $5,228,464.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,898,509 shares in the company, valued at $987,087,239.95. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $329.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $324.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.32.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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). 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 valued at $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.