Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Holdings Trimmed by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,090 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 176 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 23,653.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $370,033,000 after buying an additional 1,400,300 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 47.5% during the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $506,875,000 after buying an additional 804,634 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,921,042 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,926,323,000 after buying an additional 752,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 330.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 935,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $189,779,000 after buying an additional 718,245 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $277.21. 3,507,109 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,527,244. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $293.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.99. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.00, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.93, for a total transaction of $2,889,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,455,994.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.93, for a total value of $2,889,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,455,994.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total transaction of $2,188,439.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,903,561.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 634,993 shares of company stock worth $185,373,074. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.