Guinness Asset Management LTD Sells 13,868 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Guinness Asset Management LTD lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,554 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 13,868 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Salesforce were worth $42,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Capital Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Capital Management LLC now owns 1,513 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $488,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total transaction of $1,213,044.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,229,213.48. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $4.77 on Monday, reaching $324.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,283,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $337.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.