Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.7% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded down 0.7% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $249.20 and last traded at $250.74. 1,371,814 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,662,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.53.

Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 202,136 shares of company stock valued at $52,228,109 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CRM shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (down previously from $360.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Macquarie lowered their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $248.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $247.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,268,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management raised its holdings in Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Salesforce by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after purchasing an additional 194,224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.