Consolidated Investment Group LLC Sells 4,400 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Consolidated Investment Group LLC cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,200 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 1.1% of Consolidated Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Consolidated Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,653,307 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,644,718,000 after acquiring an additional 143,962 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Salesforce by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,519,719,000 after purchasing an additional 149,012 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,270,144,000 after buying an additional 121,436 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $1,420,381,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,252,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE CRM opened at $301.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $294.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.71, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.31 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 2,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.54, for a total value of $660,729.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,979 shares in the company, valued at $9,895,048.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 2,536 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.54, for a total value of $660,729.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares in the company, valued at $9,895,048.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 901,258 shares of company stock valued at $256,569,563. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Salesforce from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Argus raised their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

Salesforce Company 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.