Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 344 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,851 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.6% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $25,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $307.19 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.97. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.53, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.