Avory & Company LLC Sells 187 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Avory & Company LLC reduced its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 776 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.1% of Avory & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $292.05 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $325.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $279.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.