Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Sells $2,052,183.48 in Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $337.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.08. The company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Apeiron RIA LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $264,000. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 7,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,458,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,680 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,914,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 6,021 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madrona Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC now owns 995 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 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.