Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Sells 6,221 Shares

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $320.99. The stock had a trading volume of 5,046,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,122,139. The business has a fifty day moving average of $337.05 and a 200 day moving average of $290.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $307.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.79, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

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.