Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,673 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,556 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its position in Salesforce by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 3,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,799,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total value of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $340.91 on Monday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $336.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.60. The company has a market cap of $326.25 billion, a PE ratio of 55.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio 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.