Forsta AP Fonden Sells 3,700 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 270,747 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.6% of Forsta AP Fonden’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $90,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Financial LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $360.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $337.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.02. The company has a market cap of $344.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.