Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 3,127 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,006 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,127 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 2.8% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $33,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $301.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $294.19 and its 200-day moving average is $252.10. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.31 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 901,258 shares of company stock valued at $256,569,563 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.32.

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.