Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Group LLC

Fiduciary Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,697 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,068 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after purchasing an additional 121,436 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,251,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,978,000 after buying an additional 19,888 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Salesforce by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,678,330 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $948,676,000 after acquiring an additional 309,881 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,198,494 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $648,591,000 after acquiring an additional 444,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $274.29. The company had a trading volume of 3,754,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,162,527. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $190.76 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.97 and its 200-day simple 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. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush increased their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 620,793 shares of company stock worth $182,177,918 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.