Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Insider Parker Harris Sells 134,662 Shares

Key Points

• Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of Salesforce on Dec. 2 at an average $234.70 for about $31.6M, reducing his ownership by 49.07% to 139,767 shares (SEC filing).
• Salesforce recently beat quarterly estimates—EPS $2.91 vs. $2.78 and revenue $10.24B vs. $10.14B—has a market cap around $227B, and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $325.42.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) insider Parker Harris sold 134,662 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.70, for a total transaction of $31,605,171.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 139,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,803,314.90. The trade was a 49.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $3.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $238.47. 12,933,320 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,724,326. Salesforce Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.96 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $242.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $227.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th were given a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 24.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 17.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 22,914 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Salesforce by 5.1% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 275,577 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $65,312,000 after purchasing an additional 13,445 shares in the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $39,784,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. raised its position in Salesforce by 349.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 24,565 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,822,000 after purchasing an additional 19,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambria Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 614.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 9,842 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,333,000 after buying an additional 8,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Northland Securities cut Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $395.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.42.

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.

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