Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Sells 77 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,187 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $337.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.56. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.