ING Groep NV Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 300,909 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,150 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 0.7% of ING Groep NV's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. ING Groep NV's holdings in Salesforce were worth $100,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

CRM stock traded down $8.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $309.54. 5,678,163 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,179,119. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a P/E/G 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $334.23 and a 200-day moving average of $304.76. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Scotiabank increased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.