Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Sells $2,089,882.74 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $330.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $339.04 and a 200-day moving average of $299.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $316.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $1,173,564,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.