Simmons Bank Sells 346 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,526 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises about 0.8% of Simmons Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth 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 period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $306.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.86 billion, a PE ratio of 50.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.47.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, 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 a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.