Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Geneva Capital Management LLC

Geneva Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,639 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,268,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Salesforce by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after acquiring an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $251.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,341,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,942,691. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.42 billion, a PE ratio of 45.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,848.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,848.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 454,152 shares of company stock valued at $122,552,011 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.