Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by GM Advisory Group LLC

GM Advisory Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 803 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 376.1% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after buying an additional 1,139,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.37.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total value of $884,081.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,622.79. This trade represents a 2.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. The trade was a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $342.12 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $348.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

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.