Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is Talbot Financial LLC's 8th Largest Position

Talbot Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,229 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 1,632 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 2.5% of Talbot Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,414,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $111,860,000. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,745 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $319.39. The stock had a trading volume of 4,579,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,891,813. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $336.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $305.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $376.05.

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.