Stratos Investment Management LLC Sells 2,106 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stratos Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,534 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,106 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $338.67 and its 200 day moving average is $298.64. 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 company has a market capitalization of $329.28 billion, a PE ratio of 56.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.