Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 4,320 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,840 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,320 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter worth $910,220,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $874,748,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Salesforce by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Salesforce by 376.1% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139,472 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $1.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $291.02. 1,058,510 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,387,911. The company has a market cap of $282.00 billion, a PE ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $266.65 and a 200-day moving average of $263.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares in the company, valued at $13,072,660.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,575 shares of company stock worth $20,923,258 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. FBN Securities raised Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.66.

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.