Guinness Asset Management LTD Cuts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Guinness Asset Management LTD decreased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,554 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 13,868 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $42,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.77 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $337.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

About Salesforce

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.