Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 3.3% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Salesforce's stock dropped 3.3% after CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares, with the share price reaching $236.92 from a previous close of $245.10.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $332.58 for Salesforce, with varying ratings including one Strong Buy and several Buy and Hold ratings.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.416 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.7%, to be paid on October 9th to shareholders of record.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.3% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $235.81 and last traded at $236.92. 10,767,081 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the average session volume of 7,606,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.10.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.91, for a total transaction of $546,547.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,893,439,711.61. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.85, for a total transaction of $553,162.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,928,459,730.35. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Macquarie reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.58.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $248.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $225.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.87% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.56 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.330-11.370 EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at 2.840-2.860 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 88,823,481 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $24,221,275,000 after buying an additional 909,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.6% during the second 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 shares of Salesforce by 0.6% during the second 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $2,826,049,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 600,386 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Company Profile

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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