Cullen Investment Group LTD. Trims Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grandview Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 6,682 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,009,000. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Unique Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 7,839 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $319.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $336.25 and a 200-day moving average of $290.19. 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 company has a market cap of $305.66 billion, a PE ratio of 52.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

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.