Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Reduces Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,428 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 1.7% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $3,583,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,374 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,152,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Salesforce by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 47,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,728,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 134,117 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $44,839,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,365 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,152,000 after buying an additional 4,564 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $325.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $311.80 billion, a PE ratio of 53.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

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.