Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,450 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,620 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,450 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 0.8% of Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $401,215,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 99.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $675,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595,733 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.75, for a total value of $1,267,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 105,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,936,314.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 897,375 shares of company stock valued at $260,206,096. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.1 %

CRM stock traded up $5.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $278.73. 5,175,456 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,691,368. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.57 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $298.52 and a 200-day moving average of $260.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

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.