Parisi Gray Wealth Management Lowers Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Parisi Gray Wealth Management cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,051 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,252,257 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $401,215,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth approximately $352,498,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 99.7% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $675,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595,733 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total value of $1,287,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 105,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,439,040.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $82,310,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total value of $1,287,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,439,040.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 898,507 shares of company stock valued at $255,293,063 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $302.66. 597,098 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,692,840. The stock has a market cap of $293.58 billion, a PE ratio of 71.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $187.31 and a one year high of $318.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $293.59 and a 200-day moving average of $251.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

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.