Navalign LLC Trims Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Navalign LLC decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,895 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.7% of Navalign LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $301.18. The stock had a trading volume of 4,876,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,764,980. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.31 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.32.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 12,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.94, for a total transaction of $3,245,250.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,062,156.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 12,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.94, for a total value of $3,245,250.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,062,156.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $4,521,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,041,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,931,259,490.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 913,507 shares of company stock valued at $259,814,813. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.