Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Shares Down 0.1% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.1% during trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $283.29 and last traded at $286.87. 708,990 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,302,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.07.

Specifically, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,903,561.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,903,561.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 655,499 shares of company stock worth $190,517,284. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $274.68 billion, a PE ratio of 67.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $288.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.61.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 9.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

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.