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

Exchange Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 563 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 2.2% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $13,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 25.7% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 259 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.4% in the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 3,011 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 55,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,280,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.3% in the third quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 16,347 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,474,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 72.7% in the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 20,455 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 8,609 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.53.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 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 fifty day moving average of $332.36 and a 200-day moving average of $306.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid 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 0.52%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company 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.