Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Sells 6,221 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $287.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $274.76 billion, a PE ratio of 47.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $326.96 and a 200-day moving average of $308.33. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after purchasing an additional 175,035 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Salesforce by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,667 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $3,599,867,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

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.