Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 1.5% After Insider Selling

Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) fell 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $336.68 and last traded at $338.42. 1,378,509 shares were traded during mid-day 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.68, for a total transaction of $5,616,791.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $566,210.16. This represents a 90.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.55, for a total transaction of $5,228,464.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,898,509 shares in the company, valued at $987,087,239.95. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $329.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $324.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 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.