Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 0.9% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares fell 0.9% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $318.42 and last traded at $321.70. 1,871,113 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 6,073,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.53.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.84.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $335.02 and a 200 day moving average of $304.66. The firm has a market cap of $306.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.