Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Lowered by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,506 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,684 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.5% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.51.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.97, for a total value of $1,104,474.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,920,275.57. This represents a 3.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE CRM opened at $325.28 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $310.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $286.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.