American Century Companies Inc. Sells 308,747 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,729,962 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 308,747 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 0.6% of American Century Companies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.38% of Salesforce worth $958,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Fox Hill Wealth Management increased its stake in Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,369 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,892 shares of company stock valued at $15,269,897. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $249.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $253.88 and a 200 day moving average of $268.78. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

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.