Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.4% After Insider Selling
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report)’s stock price dropped 0.4% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $266.55 and last traded at $267.78. Approximately 895,718 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,574,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.94.
Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total value of $4,042,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 629,993 shares of company stock valued at $184,255,474. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. KeyCorp began coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CRM
Salesforce Stock Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $263.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.79, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.30. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $294.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.72.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after acquiring an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after acquiring an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after acquiring an additional 5,935,973 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after acquiring an additional 121,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $2,762,331,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by 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.
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