Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Greystone Financial Group LLC

Greystone Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,831 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.