Scott & Selber Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Scott & Selber Inc. cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,804 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,331.45. This represents a 4.06 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $292.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $280.02 billion, a PE ratio of 48.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $328.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.16.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Company 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.