IMA Wealth Inc. Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

IMA Wealth Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,371 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 357 shares during the period. IMA Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,653.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,300 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $506,875,000 after purchasing an additional 804,634 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 330.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 935,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $189,779,000 after purchasing an additional 718,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $114,521,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $274.29. 3,754,585 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,162,527. The stock has a market cap of $266.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.76 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $295.97 and its 200 day moving average is $263.90.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.05, for a total value of $4,275,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,656,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,892,690,118.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.05, for a total value of $4,275,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,656,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,892,690,118.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 620,793 shares of company stock worth $182,177,918 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

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.