Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Insider Sells $295,425.90 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $295,425.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,257,813.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $256.53 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $251.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,268,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after purchasing an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $355.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Salesforce from $355.00 to $295.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

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.