WD Rutherford LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

WD Rutherford LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,698 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 2.5% of WD Rutherford LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 226.5% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 320 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 25.7% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,411 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 3.1% during the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $226,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $274.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.76 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $295.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.90. The company has a market capitalization of $265.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.28.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. UBS Group lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,599,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total transaction of $7,386,762.24. 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 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 620,793 shares of company stock valued at $182,177,918. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.