Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,353,657 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 256,862 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.66% of Salesforce worth $2,124,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, 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 $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $332.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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 for 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Salesforce 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.