Stiles Financial Services Inc Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stiles Financial Services Inc lowered its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 833 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,621 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 68,514 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $22,906,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Salesforce by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 107,083 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $35,801,000 after buying an additional 9,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE CRM opened at $325.81 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $338.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.67. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.