ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Reduces Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,145 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 7,070 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 1.3% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd's holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of CRM traded down $8.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $309.54. The company had a trading volume of 7,341,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,249,096. The stock has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $333.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.25. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.