Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Boltwood Capital Management

Boltwood Capital Management lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,448 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.0% of Boltwood Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Boltwood Capital Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position 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 buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Salesforce by 2.2% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,186,017 shares of company stock valued at $405,971,793. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.39.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $334.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,601,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,466,048. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $332.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.81.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be 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 is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio 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.