Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.9% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Salesforce's stock dropped 1.9% following insider selling by CEO Marc Benioff, who sold 4,500 shares over two transactions, resulting in a total transaction value of more than $1 million.
• Despite the recent decline, analysts maintain a positive outlook with multiple brokerages reissuing buy ratings and setting price targets ranging from $300 to $430.
• Salesforce reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, exceeding estimates with a revenue of $10.24 billion and an EPS of $2.91, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.416 scheduled for payment on October 9th.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) was down 1.9% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $246.93 and last traded at $247.35. Approximately 2,619,177 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 7,504,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.06.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.12, for a total value of $565,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,991,233,709.52. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $543,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,876,644,396.50. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Salesforce from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $395.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Salesforce from $255.00 to $221.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.58.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $253.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.23. The company has a market capitalization of $234.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 16.87%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $24,221,275,000 after purchasing an additional 909,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,260,918 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $13,452,998,000 after purchasing an additional 776,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,873,900 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $5,669,224,000 after purchasing an additional 114,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,826,049,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,258,518 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,484,616,000 after acquiring an additional 600,386 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.