Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,368 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,037 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.53.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $295.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $332.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $306.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % 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, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.