Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Lessened by Citizens Business Bank

Citizens Business Bank lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,072 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 572 shares during the quarter. Citizens Business Bank’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 23,653.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,400,300 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 804,634 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 330.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 935,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $189,779,000 after purchasing an additional 718,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,521,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE CRM traded down $6.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $268.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,211,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,632,453. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $295.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.76 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.87 billion, a PE ratio of 65.03, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.79, for a total transaction of $4,121,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,737,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,500,090,086.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.79, for a total value of $4,121,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,737,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,500,090,086.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 4,204 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.00, for a total value of $1,168,712.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 625,793 shares of company stock valued at $183,318,868 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.