Sonata Capital Group Inc. Sells 500 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sonata Capital Group Inc. decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,067 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at $1,280,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 55,819 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $16,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,941 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,573 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter worth $603,000. Finally, PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 9.2% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,674 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.4 %

CRM stock traded up $4.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $315.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,356,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,233,232. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.86. The company has a market capitalization of $301.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.73, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $208.84 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,932,595.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 2,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.95, for a total transaction of $771,495.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,122.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 $29,932,595.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,573 shares of company stock worth $42,319,874 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.37.

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.