Cypress Capital Group Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,016 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,807 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,028,164,000 after acquiring an additional 153,500 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE CRM opened at $287.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $326.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.33. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74 % 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, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,331.45. This represents a 4.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

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.