Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Director Sells $5,228,464.15 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Director G Mason Morfit sold 15,353 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.55, for a total transaction of $5,228,464.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,898,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,087,239.95. This represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

G Mason Morfit also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, December 18th, G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $343.65 on Monday. 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 $328.87 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $323.14 and its 200 day moving average is $279.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $210,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 28.0% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $463,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $15,894,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

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.