Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,626 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 181 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 89.4% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,710 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 20.7% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 26,635 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,290,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 52,069 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $14,252,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $345.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. The trade was a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,660 shares of company stock valued at $14,095,336 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of CRM opened at $270.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $259.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.68.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.16%.

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.