Sienna Gestion Reduces Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sienna Gestion decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,443 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 186.7% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3,125.0% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. FBN Securities upgraded Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.55.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $252.42 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.68 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $253.60 and its 200 day moving average is $267.01. The company has a market cap of $244.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,072,660.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,576 shares of company stock worth $16,957,573. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.