Empowered Funds LLC Sells 30,433 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 53.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,725 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 30,433 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total value of $771,495.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $977,122.20. The trade was a 44.12 % 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 Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $6.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.26. 7,093,003 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,164,433. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $348.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.61.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler lowered Salesforce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $322.51.

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.