Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. Sells 35 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,183 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nvest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $292.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $328.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.16. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

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.