Flossbach Von Storch SE Sells 163,243 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Flossbach Von Storch SE decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 692,443 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 163,243 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.9% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned approximately 0.07% of Salesforce worth $231,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Guggenheim cut shares of Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.53.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $8.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $309.54. The company had a trading volume of 5,678,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,179,119. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $334.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.76. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce 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 transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.