Jennison Associates LLC Sells 658,875 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,903,213 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 658,875 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.30% of Salesforce worth $794,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% in the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,173 shares of company stock worth $40,146,206 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $2.27 on Wednesday, reaching $325.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,543,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,289,297. The company has a market capitalization of $311.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $289.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.19.

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.