Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 338 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lessened its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 60,642 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 2.2% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $329.11 and its 200 day moving average is $307.21. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.