Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.6% After Insider Selling
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.6% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $299.68 and last traded at $301.07. 1,241,140 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 5,734,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $305.83.
Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at $32,439,040.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 898,507 shares of company stock worth $255,293,063. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have commented on CRM. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.32.
Salesforce Stock Down 1.4 %
The firm has a market capitalization of $292.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $293.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.75.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during 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.
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