Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.7% After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.7% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $271.07 and last traded at $274.19. 1,586,510 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 5,457,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.97.

Specifically, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.93, for a total transaction of $2,889,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,455,994.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.93, for a total transaction of $2,889,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,455,994.88. The transaction 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, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.43, for a total value of $4,386,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,521,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,953,994,573.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 624,193 shares of company stock worth $182,212,898 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Mizuho reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $266.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average price is $292.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.