Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 716 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $325.81 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $339.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $311.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’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 $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.