Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management lessened its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 131,823 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 8,542 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 4.1% of Suncoast Equity Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $36,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,575 shares of company stock worth $20,923,258 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded down $2.84 during trading on Monday, reaching $290.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 774,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,386,206. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $266.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $281.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Salesforce Company 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.