BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 68,508 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 530,224 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 68,508 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.05% of Salesforce worth $136,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after purchasing an additional 194,224 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,178,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $4.11 on Friday, hitting $252.90. 10,391,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,635,113. The business has a 50-day moving average of $254.28 and a 200 day moving average of $271.44. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.29. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’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 $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,964 shares of company stock worth $27,956,647 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.00.

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.