Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Cuts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,459 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,160 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $334.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.76. The company has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.53.

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.