Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 320,859 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 57,270 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.0% of Ieq Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $107,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.84.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,117,641 shares of company stock valued at $386,408,308. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

CRM opened at $324.19 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $335.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.66. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.