Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,538 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 4.3% of Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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 MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $334.75 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.20. The firm has a market cap of $320.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.