Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 98.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 592 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 50,270 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 95.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,624,520 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $462,063,000 after purchasing an additional 794,506 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.63.
Get Our Latest Analysis on CRM
Salesforce Stock Up 3.7 %
Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $12.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $360.00. 12,085,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,272,891. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $344.52 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $337.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,694.92. The trade was a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
About Salesforce
(
Free Report)
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.
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