Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 36 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,193 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $321.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $307.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.80, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.66. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The business’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 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock valued at $403,542,975. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.