Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 60,989 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,238 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,269 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% during the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of CRM stock traded down $3.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $285.02. 266,562 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,350,079. The company has a market cap of $276.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total value of $1,060,644.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,502 shares of company stock worth $23,045,186 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

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.