Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.6% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Salesforce's stock price fell by 1.6% to $243.89 following insider selling by CEO Marc Benioff, who sold 2,250 shares recently.
• Equities analysts have recently revised their price targets for Salesforce, with Northland Securities lowering theirs to $396 and DA Davidson adjusting theirs to $225.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of approximately 25.98%.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) was down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $243.55 and last traded at $243.89. Approximately 1,313,899 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 7,186,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.87.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.67, for a total transaction of $557,257.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,950,138,789.57. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.07, for a total transaction of $553,657.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,931,080,275.97. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Northland Securities cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Salesforce from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.57.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.9%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $258.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $232.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.37.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.270-11.330 EPS. Q2 2026 guidance at 2.760-2.780 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.98%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Insight Holdings Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,549,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,752,830,000 after buying an additional 1,736,667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.