Mutual Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Mutual Advisors LLC reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,750 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 606 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Barclays raised their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $334.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $336.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.20. 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 capitalization of $320.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.