KCM Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,866 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $24,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the last quarter. XN LP grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the second quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after buying an additional 90,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 27.5% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after buying an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $5.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $325.93. 1,650,608 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,295,213. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $348.86. The company has a market capitalization of $311.59 billion, a PE ratio of 56.91, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $284.99 and its 200-day moving average is $266.30.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Phillip Securities reissued an “accumulate” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.