GoalVest Advisory LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

GoalVest Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 669 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 282 shares during the quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after buying an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,171,198 shares of company stock worth $401,945,558. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $332.67 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $318.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.72, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $336.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.92.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Salesforce 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.