Townsquare Capital LLC Sells 142,541 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Townsquare Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 76.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,712 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 142,541 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.8 %

CRM stock opened at $330.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $315.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $299.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.87. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 5,735 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.22, for a total value of $1,526,771.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,723.86. The trade was a 77.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,510 shares of company stock worth $42,475,538 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.89.

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.