Independent Franchise Partners LLP Lowers Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Independent Franchise Partners LLP cut its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 26.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,892,873 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,040,384 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 5.1% of Independent Franchise Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Independent Franchise Partners LLP owned approximately 0.30% of Salesforce worth $611,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in Salesforce by 374.1% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 128 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 350.0% during the 2nd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 225 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 354.8% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 191 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 16,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.73, for a total transaction of $3,674,207.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,038,471.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.97, for a total transaction of $32,959.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,576 shares in the company, valued at $517,698.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 16,277 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.73, for a total value of $3,674,207.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,038,471.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 671,788 shares of company stock worth $141,136,481 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.6 %

CRM traded up $3.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $224.69. 1,951,896 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,425,020. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $208.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.92. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.34 and a 1 year high of $238.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $218.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.18.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The CRM provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.22. Salesforce had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 4.77%. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Salesforce from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $220.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $242.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.28.

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 relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.