Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) COO Sells 5,801 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) COO Brian Millham sold 5,801 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.10, for a total transaction of $1,619,059.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 4,204 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,336.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Brian Millham also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, April 1st, Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24.
• On Monday, March 25th, Brian Millham sold 1,679 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $512,867.34.
• On Friday, March 22nd, Brian Millham sold 14,516 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total transaction of $4,490,089.12.
• On Thursday, February 22nd, Brian Millham sold 14,517 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $4,246,222.50.
• On Wednesday, January 24th, Brian Millham sold 393 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $110,040.00.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $276.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $296.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a PE ratio of 65.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.57 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,557 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,299 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $248,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 226.5% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 320 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

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.