Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,031 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 563 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CRM opened at $333.47 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.01. The stock has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.