Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 502,164 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 3,011 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Salesforce worth $167,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Northland Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $4.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $292.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,608,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,871,845. The company has a 50 day moving average of $325.91 and a 200 day moving average of $308.21. The stock has a market cap of $279.49 billion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.