Vinva Investment Management Ltd Trims Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,897 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% in 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. AIA Group Ltd increased 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 worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $3,672,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $305.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.89.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $330.01 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $299.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total transaction of $884,081.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,622.79. The trade was a 2.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.