Doliver Advisors LP Lowers Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Doliver Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,782 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.5% of Doliver Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Doliver Advisors LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $5.16 on Monday, hitting $327.74. The company had a trading volume of 3,548,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,114,263. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.90, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $332.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.81.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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 fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock worth $405,971,793 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.39.

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.