Destination Wealth Management Sells 70 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Destination Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 886 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $358.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $316.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.00. The stock has a market cap of $342.79 billion, a PE ratio of 58.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total transaction of $1,526,771.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at $442,723.86. This represents a 77.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at $30,223,020.24. This trade represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 138,498 shares of company stock valued at $40,983,349 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.24.

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.