Tsfg LLC Trims Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Tsfg LLC cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 914 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after buying an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter worth approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $874,748,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Salesforce by 376.1% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139,472 shares in the last quarter. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total value of $675,416.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,362,888.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,412 shares of company stock valued at $20,212,507. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $288.31 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $279.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $263.98 and a 200 day moving average of $263.46. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.74.

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.