Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 946 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 946 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $23,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research 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 note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,117,641 shares of company stock valued at $386,408,308. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.32, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $335.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.66.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.