Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 68,214 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 159,048 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 68,214 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $43,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CRM opened at $331.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $317.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.70, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $304.68 and a 200-day moving average of $271.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company 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 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,223,020.24. The trade was a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock worth $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $345.31.

Salesforce Company 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.