Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,684 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $326.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.53. The company has a market capitalization of $312.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

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.