Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,589 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 917 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 0.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $22,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $523,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 74.4% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,424 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,299 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,233 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,264,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 9,526 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $318.76 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim lowered Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.84.

Salesforce 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.