Ieq Capital LLC Sells 57,270 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 320,859 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 57,270 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.0% of Ieq Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $107,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,668,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $12,190,000 after buying an additional 8,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,538 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $10.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $308.38. 4,883,390 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,167,824. The company has a market capitalization of $295.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $334.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.76.

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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie restated a "neutral" rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $375.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.