Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.6% After Insider Selling
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report)’s share price dropped 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $299.68 and last traded at $301.07. Approximately 1,241,140 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 5,734,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $305.83.Specifically, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 12,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.94, for a total value of $3,245,250.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,979 shares in the company, valued at $10,062,156.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,159,307 shares of company stock worth $324,535,513 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.32.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Stock Down 1.8 %
The stock has a market cap of $291.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.68, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $292.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.18.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th 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 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Aspect Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.
Salesforce Company Profile
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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