Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 5.6% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $277.13 and last traded at $277.82. 5,571,831 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 5,511,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.32.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 897,375 shares of company stock worth $260,206,096. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $298.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $260.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.