Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 17.3% during the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 2,349 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 5.4% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,618 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,811,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 25.7% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 259 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 15.7% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,341 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,662,000 after buying an additional 3,308 shares during the period. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.53.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of CRM opened at $309.54 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.18. The stock has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,102,114 shares of company stock worth $381,142,656. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.