Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.1% Following Insider Selling

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)’s stock price dropped 1.1% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $232.87 and last traded at $234.34. Approximately 2,041,120 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 7,153,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.03.

Specifically, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.64, for a total value of $527,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,794,931,019.44. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.45, for a total transaction of $532,012.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,816,490,962.95. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.34, for a total value of $540,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,911,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,862,826,974.14. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.84.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $261.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.65. The company has a market cap of $223.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 12.94%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $2,826,049,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $2,039,196,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 926.4% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,256,211 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,422,979,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,521 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 30,456.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,801,588 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,020,194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 27,361.5% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,424,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $933,737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.