Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $278.57, but opened at $270.93. Salesforce shares last traded at $270.42, with a volume of 1,722,592 shares trading hands.

Specifically, COO Brian Millham sold 6,162 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.41, for a total value of $1,746,372.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,162 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.41, for a total transaction of $1,746,372.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 636,344 shares of company stock worth $184,877,874 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.94.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.3 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $287.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.10, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.