State of Michigan Retirement System Has $86.74 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,443 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $86,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. OMC Financial Services LTD increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,331.45. This trade represents a 4.06 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $292.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $328.10 and a 200 day moving average of $308.16. The company has a market capitalization of $280.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.16%.

About Salesforce

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.