Dakota Wealth Management Cuts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Dakota Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,223 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 18,292 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $401,215,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Salesforce by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $675,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595,733 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total value of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,074,012. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.01, for a total value of $4,110,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,761,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,770,697,095.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total transaction of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,074,012. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 897,375 shares of company stock valued at $260,206,096. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $272.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.26. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.57 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The stock has a market cap of $264.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

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.