Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 502,164 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,011 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $167,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 34,299 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,467,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,507.9% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 23,706 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $7,926,000 after buying an additional 22,797 shares in the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,354 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,028,164,000 after buying an additional 153,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 125,570 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $41,982,000 after purchasing an additional 4,023 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on CRM shares. Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $287.10 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $274.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

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.