Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,080 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,909 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.6% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $19,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim lowered Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.