R David Schmaier Sells 1,785 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,416,644.60. This represents a 5.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

CRM stock opened at $270.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $309.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.13. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $259.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.10%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,321,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.74.

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.