Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Sells 4,096 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 4,096 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $1,118,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,290 shares in the company, valued at $13,463,563.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.0 %

CRM traded up $2.82 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $276.63. The company had a trading volume of 6,283,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,718,907. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.57 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

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.