Quest Partners LLC Reduces Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Quest Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 73.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 628 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,709 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,566,055,000 after buying an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Salesforce by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,178,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director Oscar Munoz purchased 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,165.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Oscar Munoz acquired 2,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $243.69 per share, with a total value of $499,808.19. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,165.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.22, for a total transaction of $675,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,362,888.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,376 shares of company stock worth $15,878,005. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $254.57 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.91. The company has a market capitalization of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.55.

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.