Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.7% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares dropped 0.7% during mid-day 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. Approximately 1,371,814 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,662,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.53.

Specifically, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’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 value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 202,136 shares of company stock valued at $52,228,109 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $247.38 billion, a PE ratio of 46.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $248.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.40.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 is currently 28.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after buying an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.