Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Sells 117 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 626 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CRM. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim lowered Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total value of $1,213,044.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,229,213.48. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $324.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $337.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.56. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

About Salesforce

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.