Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Curbstone Financial Management Corp

Curbstone Financial Management Corp cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,626 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,158 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,739,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Acorn Creek Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 923 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $215,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.60. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,534,090. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.