Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 527 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,440 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.3% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $21,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $331.77 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $317.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $304.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,223,020.24. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $345.31.

About Salesforce

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.