abrdn plc Trims Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

abrdn plc trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,020,700 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 85,042 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.6% of abrdn plc’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. abrdn plc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $342,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,104,699 shares of company stock worth $382,108,847. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $339.28 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $324.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.