Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Petrus Trust Company LTA

Petrus Trust Company LTA cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 226,053 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 9,747 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 6.0% of Petrus Trust Company LTA’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Petrus Trust Company LTA’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $61,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $3,672,000. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after acquiring an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total transaction of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at $202,702.68. This trade represents a 75.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $331.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $317.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $348.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $304.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James upped their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.46.

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.