Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Bell Bank

Bell Bank reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,597 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 21.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 807 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 15,169 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,152,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 25,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 23,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 62.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,619 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $991,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $309.54 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.25. The firm has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given 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 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.53.

Salesforce 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.