Pingora Partners LLC Sells 45 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pingora Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 26.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $331.77 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $317.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $304.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Barclays upped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Salesforce from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $385.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.46.

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.