Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Trims Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,187 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $340.61. 372,367 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,278,132. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $296.26 and a 200 day moving average of $268.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $325.62 billion, a PE ratio of 58.98, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total value of $884,081.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,622.79. The trade was a 2.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $385.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued 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 Company 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.