Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,945 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 206,982 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,945 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $69,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Salesforce by 6.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 197,395 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $54,029,000 after purchasing an additional 12,314 shares in the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 3.7% in the third quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $219,000. Greenfield Savings Bank acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $379,000. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 26.3% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.