Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Insider R David Schmaier Sells 1,785 Shares

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $3.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $338.45. 3,218,003 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,404,771. The company has a market capitalization of $323.90 billion, a PE ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $327.37 and a 200 day moving average of $281.90. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Institutional Trading of Salesforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $35,315,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,092 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,595,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navalign LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 7,936 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.86.

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.