Abbrea Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Abbrea Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,385 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.8% of Abbrea Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 620,793 shares of company stock worth $182,177,918. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $274.29. The company had a trading volume of 3,686,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,661,739. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.76 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $266.06 billion, a PE ratio of 65.67, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.40 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Salesforce 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.