Trivest Advisors Ltd Sells 287,208 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Trivest Advisors Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 93.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,292 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 287,208 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 0.5% of Trivest Advisors Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Trivest Advisors Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Erste Group Bank cut Salesforce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $347.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 1,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.35, for a total value of $299,603.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 136,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,895,776.40. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.69, for a total value of $611,302.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,862,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,222,910,942.33. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,284 shares of company stock worth $9,444,537. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $258.23 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.49. The company has a market capitalization of $246.87 billion, a PE ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.36. Salesforce Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The business had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.416 per share. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 25.98%.

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.