Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Northstar Advisory Group LLC

Northstar Advisory Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 57.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,276 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,749 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,653,307 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $9,644,718,000 after purchasing an additional 143,962 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,519,719,000 after acquiring an additional 149,012 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after acquiring an additional 121,436 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,420,381,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $300.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $293.59 and its 200-day moving average is $251.75. The stock has a market cap of $291.25 billion, a PE ratio of 71.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.31 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.58, for a total value of $2,585,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,478,857.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.58, for a total transaction of $2,585,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,478,857.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.50, for a total transaction of $1,287,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,439,040.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 898,507 shares of company stock worth $255,293,063 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush upped their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James upped their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Argus upped their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

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.