Conning Inc. Sells 4,469 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Conning Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,261 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,469 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake 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 period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake 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 period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Salesforce by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

CRM stock opened at $325.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $311.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $339.05 and a 200-day moving average of $299.87.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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