Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Holdings Lessened by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,368 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,037 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $308.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $332.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.60. 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 quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $295.01 billion, a PE ratio of 50.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.53.

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.