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

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,071,750. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $4.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $292.05. 6,608,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,871,845. The company has a market cap of $279.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $325.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $365.32.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 114.2% in the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,265 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,807 shares in the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 3,249 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $752,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 23,012 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,726,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $190,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.