Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,589 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 917 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems' portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Salesforce were worth $22,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Citigroup increased their price target on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $375.53.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded down $8.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $309.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,341,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,249,096. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $334.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.76. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.