Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 352,061 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 5,552 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $117,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $325.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $311.49 billion, a PE ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.