Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 3,736 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,004 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,736 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 985 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.8% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,876 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSC Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.1% during the second quarter. DSC Advisors L.P. now owns 1,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of CRM stock traded up $6.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $287.75. 6,131,284 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,543,515. 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 $278.83 billion, a PE ratio of 51.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $258.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $105,637.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,644,921.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’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 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total transaction of $229,434.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,072,660.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,612 shares of company stock worth $21,133,273 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Wedbush lifted their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.74.

Salesforce 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.