Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Evanson Asset Management LLC

Evanson Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,526 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after buying an additional 10,252,257 shares in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $401,215,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $352,498,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $675,370,000 after buying an additional 1,595,733 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

CRM traded down $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $301.18. 4,876,082 shares of the company were exchanged, 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 market cap of $292.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $294.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.10. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.31 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.58, for a total value of $2,585,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,478,857.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.58, for a total value of $2,585,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,478,857.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 2,536 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.54, for a total value of $660,729.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,895,048.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 913,507 shares of company stock valued at $259,814,813. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wolfe Research raised Salesforce from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

About Salesforce

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.