Cypress Capital Group Decreases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cypress Capital Group lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,016 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,807 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.6 %

Salesforce stock traded up $4.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $292.05. The stock had a trading volume of 6,608,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,871,845. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $279.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $325.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $308.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $247.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $365.32.

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.