Activest Wealth Management Lowers Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Activest Wealth Management lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 65.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 269 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 499 shares during the quarter. Activest Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the first quarter valued at about $874,748,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Salesforce by 376.1% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,873,000 after buying an additional 1,139,472 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,117 shares of company stock worth $39,085,562 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $5.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $330.78. 552,789 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,269,986. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $291.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $316.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Salesforce from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.19.

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.