Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Lowered by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC decreased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,144,887 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,181,223 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 0.4% of Fmr LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Fmr LLC owned approximately 2.73% of Salesforce worth $7,156,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank boosted its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 11.6% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 357 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush raised their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.66.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $339.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $324.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $296.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 27.83%.

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.