Meyer Handelman Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Meyer Handelman Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $323.31 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $309.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.66.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.