Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.9% during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $272.35 and last traded at $273.14. Approximately 1,169,548 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 5,581,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.74.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 625,793 shares of company stock worth $183,318,868 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Argus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $260.87 billion, a PE ratio of 64.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $295.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.65.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is 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.