Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Sells 10,428 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 91.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 919 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 10,428 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,635,254 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,490,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,841 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,561,325 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,147,402,000 after purchasing an additional 457,463 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,905,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,922,223,000 after buying an additional 736,986 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,116,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,251,592,000 after buying an additional 407,834 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.59, for a total value of $884,081.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,622.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,892 shares of company stock worth $15,269,897. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Phillip Securities reaffirmed an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, FBN Securities upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.41.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $246.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $238.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $254.11 and a 200 day moving average of $268.91.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.78%.

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.