Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.5% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) traded down 1.5% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $336.68 and last traded at $338.42. 1,378,509 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 6,431,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $343.65.

Specifically, COO Brian Millham sold 16,487 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.68, for a total transaction of $5,616,791.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,210.16. The trade was a 90.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 15,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.55, for a total value of $5,228,464.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,898,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,087,239.95. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $323.14 and a 200-day moving average of $279.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $328.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend 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 Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

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