Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,453 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 946 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $23,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.53.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.2 %

Salesforce stock traded down $10.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $308.38. The company had a trading volume of 4,883,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,167,824. The company has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a PE ratio of 50.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $334.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.76.

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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136. 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.