Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 5,684 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,684 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.5% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total transaction of $1,104,474.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,920,275.57. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.51.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $325.28 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $310.96 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $286.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio 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.