Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,902 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,361 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Salesforce by 376.1% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after buying an additional 1,139,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $339.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $348.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $296.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.98.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.66.

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.