Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,932 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 55,585 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $43,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock traded down $8.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $309.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,678,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,179,119. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $334.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.76. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given 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 payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.