Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by AMI Asset Management Corp

AMI Asset Management Corp trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 230,050 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,464 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 4.1% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $76,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,173,477 shares of company stock valued at $402,596,964. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $324.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $336.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.47. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.