Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Portside Wealth Group LLC

Portside Wealth Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,147 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. 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 the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $337.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.