Guinness Asset Management LTD Reduces Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Guinness Asset Management LTD lowered its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,554 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 13,868 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $42,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $324.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $337.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.80. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.