Sundeep G. Reddy Sells 436 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $333.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $336.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 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. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $618,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.9% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 23,264 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,981,000 after acquiring an additional 4,635 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 403.4% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 9,485 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 736,459 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $189,344,000 after purchasing an additional 102,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unisphere Establishment boosted its stake in Salesforce by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 559,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $143,719,000 after purchasing an additional 68,250 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Company Profile

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.