Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC

Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,628 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 152 shares during the quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

CRM stock traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.66. 4,041,636 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,219,539. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.76 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.17. The company has a market cap of $264.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total value of $4,042,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,005,846.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total transaction of $4,042,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,707,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 629,993 shares of company stock worth $184,255,474. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.