Asio Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Asio Capital LLC decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,920 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.5% of Asio Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Asio Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $409,000. Vulcan Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 76.1% in the second quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,476,111 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $379,469,000 after buying an additional 637,710 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,556 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 3,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,799,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $333.47 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.01. The company has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid 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 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This trade represents a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Citigroup increased their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.