Flputnam Investment Management Co. Decreases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 79,981 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 10,506 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $26,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRM. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank cut their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $297.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $329.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.21.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. 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.