Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 2,241 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,840 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,241 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.7% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $60,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total value of $1,213,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,229,213.48. The trade was a 3.42 % 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, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This trade represents a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock valued at $403,542,975. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.3 %

Salesforce stock traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $320.18. The company had a trading volume of 256,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,635,833. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $306.41 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $336.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

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.