Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Lessened by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 56,872.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $311,998,000 after purchasing an additional 931,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $329.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.58.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.16%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’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 value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.