Atlas Brown Inc. Sells 78 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

by · The Markets Daily

Atlas Brown Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,097 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises approximately 0.8% of Atlas Brown Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 909,821 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $233,915,000 after acquiring an additional 41,630 shares during the period. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 7.0% in the second quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 871 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3.9% during the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 250,647 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $64,441,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.2% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 87,120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $22,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Salesforce

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total transaction of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,353,653.18. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

Salesforce stock traded down $9.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $317.63. 4,893,897 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,616,037. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $335.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.53. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $303.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

About Salesforce

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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.

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