Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,159 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,665 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $294.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.89. The company has a market cap of $282.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Company 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.