Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 817,335 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 807,185 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $273,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Bank of America increased their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

CRM opened at $326.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $312.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.96.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued 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 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

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.