Insider Selling: Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Insider Sells 405 Shares of Stock

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider Miguel Milano sold 405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $106,251.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,922.55. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Miguel Milano also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 23rd, Miguel Milano sold 705 shares of Salesforce stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.44, for a total value of $197,005.20.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $268.11 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $269.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $295.75. Salesforce Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.38.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.416 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 450.0% during the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $349.08.

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.