Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,301 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 16,053 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $22,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 2,336 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 4,701 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $238,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,059,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 32,117 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $10,738,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $4.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $324.77. The stock had a trading volume of 6,283,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,232,916. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. 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 $337.25 and its 200 day moving average is $291.08. The company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $247.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.