HF Advisory Group LLC Trims Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

HF Advisory Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,660 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 821 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 2.9% during the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 21.7% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,499,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $506,875,000 after purchasing an additional 804,634 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of CRM traded down $2.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $273.90. 830,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,637,243. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.57 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $260.89. The firm has a market cap of $265.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,428,121.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at $5,347,848.51. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,231 shares in the company, valued at $12,428,121.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 907,149 shares of company stock worth $262,952,448 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.87.

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.