Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Sells 1,303 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 62.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 783 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,303 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robin L. Washington purchased 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,331.45. This trade represents a 4.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $287.10 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $326.96 and its 200-day moving average is $308.33. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $274.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

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.