Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,304 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,668 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.7% of Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,762,331,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,708,615 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,607,493,000 after purchasing an additional 5,935,973 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $910,220,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $874,748,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.74, for a total transaction of $3,626,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,940,152,355.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,692 shares of company stock worth $21,006,957 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE CRM opened at $244.02 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $254.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.46 billion, a PE ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

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.