Larson Financial Group LLC Trims Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Larson Financial Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,123 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Salesforce by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 45,086 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,431,933 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $639,939,000 after buying an additional 420,231 shares during the period. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 674.1% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,649 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,644,000 after acquiring an additional 15,369 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $276.63 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $296.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $268.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $190.57 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given 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 yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total transaction of $2,831,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.60, for a total value of $1,258,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 104,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,429,238.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.12, for a total value of $2,831,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,104,977.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 616,589 shares of company stock worth $181,071,306 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

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.