KBC Group NV Trims Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,406,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 228,833 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.3% of KBC Group NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $470,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,173,000. Apexium Financial LP increased its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 1,647 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,692 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,537 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total value of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $333.47 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Salesforce Company 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.