Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,358 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,430 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $733,805,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE CRM traded up $4.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $324.77. 6,283,814 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.02. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. 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 quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 0.49%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % 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, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.