Venture Visionary Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,142 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 127.3% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 150 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.8% in the first quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the first quarter worth approximately $8,557,000. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 12,255 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,691,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $291.29. 2,693,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,395,964. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $266.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 78,575 shares of company stock valued at $20,923,258. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on CRM shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.66.

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.