Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Trimmed by Tealwood Asset Management Inc.

Tealwood Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Salesforce by 48.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,674 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. The trade was a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $319.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $305.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $336.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.