IMA Wealth Inc. Sells 357 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

IMA Wealth Inc. lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,371 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 357 shares during the period. IMA Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after purchasing an additional 121,436 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,251,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,978,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Salesforce by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,678,330 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $948,676,000 after purchasing an additional 309,881 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,198,494 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $648,591,000 after purchasing an additional 444,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at $17,104,977.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 620,793 shares of company stock valued at $182,177,918 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $274.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,754,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,162,527. The stock has a market cap of $266.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.76 and a one year high of $318.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $295.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

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.