Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,851 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.6% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $25,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $383,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,134,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 1,578 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.47.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

Salesforce stock opened at $307.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $293.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $330.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.97. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.