Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,060 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Salesforce by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 47,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,230 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 134,117 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $44,839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,365 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $10,152,000 after acquiring an additional 4,564 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $325.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $338.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.36. 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 $311.80 billion, a PE ratio of 53.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company 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 company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued 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 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.