Charter Oak Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Charter Oak Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,851 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,317 shares during the quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Street Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $12.90 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $360.00. The company had a trading volume of 12,084,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,269,196. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. 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's 50-day moving average is $337.23 and its 200 day moving average is $295.28. The stock has a market cap of $344.52 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Salesforce 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.