Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Sells 897 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $334.75. 4,351,873 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,399,249. The firm has a market cap of $320.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.