Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 900 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,655 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $52,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $309.54 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, 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 50-day simple moving average of $333.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.