Kennedy Investment Group Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kennedy Investment Group reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 941 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of CRM opened at $360.00 on Wednesday. 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 $337.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.28. The stock has a market cap of $344.52 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.