Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 17,600 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 22.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 17,600 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $341.80 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $338.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $296.75.

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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905. 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.