Sound Income Strategies LLC Sells 67 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sound Income Strategies LLC trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 572 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 11.9% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $409,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,742.4% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 68,929 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $17,722,000 after purchasing an additional 66,504 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,783,790 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $715,709,000 after purchasing an additional 185,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Makena Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.8% during the second quarter. Makena Capital Management LLC now owns 56,106 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $14,425,000 after buying an additional 11,874 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE CRM opened at $333.47 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $336.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.49.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388 over the last 90 days. Company 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.