Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,813 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 8,614 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $81,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third 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 boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CRM opened at $330.19 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $337.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.13.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.