Boston Financial Mangement LLC Cuts Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,821 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $324.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $335.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.84.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,117,641 shares of company stock worth $386,408,308 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.