Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 3,500 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,195 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $25,490,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Salesforce by 26.9% in 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 buying an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.37.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total transaction of $1,069,194.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,932,595.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total transaction of $1,069,194.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,932,595.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total transaction of $1,060,644.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,003 shares of company stock valued at $41,494,084. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CRM opened at $298.01 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $204.69 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $284.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

About Salesforce

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.