Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 1.7% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s share price fell 1.7% on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $270.34 and last traded at $271.98. 1,027,957 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,539,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $276.64.

Specifically, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.32, for a total transaction of $2,533,854.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,624.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital reissued a “hold” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.03.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $262.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fox Hill Wealth Management increased its holdings in Salesforce by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSC Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. DSC Advisors L.P. now owns 1,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.