Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Trading Down 0.3% on Insider Selling

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) shares were down 0.3% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $284.62 and last traded at $287.20. Approximately 847,138 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 6,489,650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.92.

Specifically, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total value of $1,211,364.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,181,807.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $325.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $310.74.

Salesforce Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.11. The stock has a market cap of $281.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,922,223,000 after purchasing an additional 736,986 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in 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 buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.