Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Lowered by Avory & Company LLC

Avory & Company LLC decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,574 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 402 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.3% of Avory & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,045 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $5.64 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $270.10. 2,991,058 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,603,638. The business has a 50 day moving average of $295.69 and a 200-day moving average of $265.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.03, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. 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 12-month low of $190.76 and a 12-month high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CRM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.82, for a total transaction of $4,287,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,581,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,768,866.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 610,793 shares of company stock worth $179,197,018 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company 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.