Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,810 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 0.6% of Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $325.81 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. 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 capitalization of $311.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $338.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $300.36.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 company 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%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.