Optas LLC Sells 79 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Optas LLC lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,809 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.6% of Optas LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price (down previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $4.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.10. 12,619,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.47. The company has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.19%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 428,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,699,429.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit purchased 428,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.17 per share, with a total value of $99,796,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,914,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $912,699,429.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 547,387 shares of company stock valued at $151,174,635. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.