TCW Group Inc. Sells 281,888 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

TCW Group Inc. decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 49.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 282,966 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 281,888 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $94,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $309.54 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $333.34 and a 200 day moving average of $305.72. The company has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

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.