Kennedy Investment Group Trims Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kennedy Investment Group trimmed its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,031 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank raised its holdings in Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $295,425.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,257,813.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $105,637.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,921.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,575 shares of company stock valued at $20,923,258 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

Salesforce stock traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $290.97. 1,243,645 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,388,458. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $281.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $266.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $400.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.66.

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.