Bailard Inc. Sells 506 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,594 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 23,653.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,406,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,033,000 after buying an additional 1,400,300 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,499,630 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $506,875,000 after buying an additional 804,634 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 330.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 935,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $189,779,000 after purchasing an additional 718,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $114,521,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 616,589 shares of company stock worth $181,071,306. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.5 %

CRM stock traded down $4.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $271.95. 3,055,649 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,663,743. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $263.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.14, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.57 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

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.