Moreno Evelyn V Reduces Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Moreno Evelyn V lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 65.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,283 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 29,029 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.9% of Moreno Evelyn V’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded down $3.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $280.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,776,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,285,161. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.93, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $287.88 and its 200 day moving average is $273.68.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.39, for a total value of $4,400,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,386,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,927,367,242.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 2,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.59, for a total value of $731,289.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at $17,858,365.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.39, for a total transaction of $4,400,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,386,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,927,367,242.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 630,182 shares of company stock worth $183,257,351. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.