Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Lowers Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,865 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $294.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $330.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Salesforce from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

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.