Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Lowered by Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 3.6% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $7.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $352.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 940,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,960,337. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $337.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.02. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $337.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Guggenheim lowered shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020. Corporate insiders own 3.20% 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.