Insider Selling: Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Insider Sells 8,281 Shares of Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider R David Schmaier sold 8,281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $2,261,955.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,131,669.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

R David Schmaier also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 16th, R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,074,350.70.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $2.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $276.63. 6,283,041 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,718,907. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $296.91 and a 200 day moving average of $263.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.57 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a PE ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.