Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.3% After Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) dropped 0.3% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $277.73 and last traded at $278.78. Approximately 844,115 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,529,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.48.

Specifically, COO Brian Millham sold 8,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $2,359,560.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.75, for a total transaction of $1,141,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,206,179.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, Director Maynard G. Webb, Jr. sold 9,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,363 shares in the company, valued at $376,624.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CRM shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.74.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.4 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.73 billion, a PE ratio of 51.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. XN LP raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,178,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors grew its position in Salesforce by 38.0% in the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 828 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 228 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.