Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Hixon Zuercher LLC

Hixon Zuercher LLC cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,056 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 767 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.8% of Hixon Zuercher LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 80,591 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,944,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,933 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $361,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This trade represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.0 %

CRM opened at $343.51 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $328.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.43.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.