Liberty One Investment Management LLC Sells 571 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,126 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 571 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 263.7% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 3,418 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 14.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 96,205 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,734,000 after purchasing an additional 12,193 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,557 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 87.6% during the 2nd quarter. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. now owns 73,759 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $18,963,000 after buying an additional 34,435 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $337.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.56. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.