Grassi Investment Management Sells 749 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

by · The Markets Daily

Grassi Investment Management lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,414 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 749 shares during the period. Grassi Investment Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Salesforce by 26.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,376,536 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,329,925,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044,611 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $910,220,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Salesforce in the first quarter valued at approximately $874,748,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,518,658,000 after buying an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Salesforce by 376.1% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,442,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $370,873,000 after buying an additional 1,139,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $286.93 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.24. The company has a market capitalization of $278.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,812 shares of company stock valued at $23,418,916 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.66.

Read Our Latest Report on Salesforce

Salesforce Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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