Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,600 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $874,748,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised 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 valued at $370,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,472 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total transaction of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,251,239.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.28, for a total value of $1,080,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,251,239.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,781 shares of company stock worth $23,696,593 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CRM opened at $290.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $269.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

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.