Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 2.5% on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares of Salesforce Inc. fell by 2.5% following insider selling, with CEO Marc Benioff recently selling 2,250 shares at various prices totaling nearly $1.8 million.
• Analyst ratings on Salesforce are mixed, with a price target range from $255 to $404, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently reported an earnings per share of $2.58, beating expectations, and had a revenue growth of 7.6% year-over-year.

Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) were down 2.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $251.32 and last traded at $251.90. Approximately 2,603,247 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 7,058,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.33.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.77, for a total value of $597,982.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,165,738,224.67. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.11, for a total value of $605,497.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,205,522,871.81. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.38, for a total value of $606,105.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,208,738,995.98. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Salesforce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $348.16.

Salesforce Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $266.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Notis McConarty Edward boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 3,844 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 355,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $95,222,000 after purchasing an additional 195,000 shares in the last quarter. Delaney Dennis R boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 5,694 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 396.9% in the 1st quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,823 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.