Brown Financial Advisors Trims Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Brown Financial Advisors reduced its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,341 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. Brown Financial Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 25.7% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 259 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 55,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,280,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Cavalier Investments LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 6.3% during the third quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 16,347 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,474,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its holdings in Salesforce by 72.7% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 20,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 8,609 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of CRM opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $332.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $306.60. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS 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 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 was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

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.