Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Decreases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,864 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,724 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after buying an additional 1,008,841 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,926,323,000 after purchasing an additional 752,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,251,592,000 after purchasing an additional 407,834 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.50.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $2.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $265.33. The stock had a trading volume of 4,499,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,601,361. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a market cap of $257.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.57, for a total value of $1,069,194.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,932,595.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.17 per share, for a total transaction of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares in the company, valued at $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,136 shares of company stock valued at $43,631,609 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.