Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Holdings Lessened by Platform Technology Partners

Platform Technology Partners cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,843 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 89,098 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $24,387,000 after acquiring an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. XN LP grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after acquiring an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,999 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 1st quarter valued at $2,178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 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 transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,373 shares of company stock valued at $41,250,680. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.80.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $341.74 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $326.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.76 and a 1-year high of $344.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $279.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.83.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 27.83%.

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.