Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,440 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,792 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $56,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $274.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,754,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,162,527. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $295.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.30. The company has a market capitalization of $266.06 billion, a PE ratio of 65.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.76 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 4,204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.00, for a total value of $1,168,712.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 620,793 shares of company stock valued at $182,177,918 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.