Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 244,728 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 19,012 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.1% of Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $81,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,534,090. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $343.51 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $328.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.43.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.