Pitcairn Co. Lowers Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pitcairn Co. cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,709 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after purchasing an additional 176,641 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,618,407,000 after buying an additional 96,381 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,331,000 after buying an additional 877,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ValueAct Holdings L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. ValueAct Holdings L.P. now owns 3,914,309 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,006,369,000 after buying an additional 428,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the company’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 value of $608,108.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’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 transaction of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,991 shares of company stock worth $43,333,238. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, August 26th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.37.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $342.12 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86. The stock has a market cap of $327.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $294.61 and a 200 day moving average of $268.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

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.