Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Price Down 1.5% After Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $336.68 and last traded at $338.42. Approximately 1,378,509 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 6,431,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $343.65.

Specifically, Director G Mason Morfit sold 15,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.55, for a total transaction of $5,228,464.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,898,509 shares in the company, valued at $987,087,239.95. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $323.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $324.22 billion, a PE ratio of 55.72, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% in 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 increased its position in Salesforce by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.