Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Means Investment CO. Inc.

Means Investment CO. Inc. decreased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,755 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 1.5% of Means Investment CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $13,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Swedbank AB increased its position in Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

CRM opened at $341.80 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $338.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.66. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $327.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

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.