E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Sells 507 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 507 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded down $3.80 during trading on Thursday, reaching $275.17. 4,707,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,493,349. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.36 billion, a PE ratio of 65.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.22, for a total transaction of $1,164,324.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,091,541.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.43, for a total transaction of $4,386,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,521,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,953,994,573.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.22, for a total value of $1,164,324.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,091,541.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 624,193 shares of company stock valued at $182,212,898. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.