First Command Advisory Services Inc. Sells 45 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. lessened its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 505 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $270.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,913,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,856,009. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.57 and a one year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $262.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total transaction of $4,152,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,559,293,833.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,428,121.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.83, for a total value of $4,152,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,857,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,559,293,833.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 628,184 shares of company stock valued at $184,794,698 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.