Exchange Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 563 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 2.2% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $13,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $332.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.70, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler set a $405.00 target price on Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.53.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.