Parker Harris Sells 942 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Parker Harris also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 5th, Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80.
• On Tuesday, October 29th, Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00.
• On Tuesday, October 22nd, Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total transaction of $1,213,044.00.
• On Tuesday, October 15th, Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00.
• On Tuesday, October 8th, Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total value of $1,211,364.00.
• On Tuesday, October 1st, Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.75, for a total value of $1,141,350.00.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE CRM opened at $344.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $329.62 billion, a PE ratio of 56.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $324.16 and a 200-day moving average of $280.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd 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 during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

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.