Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Reduced by LifePlan Financial LLC

LifePlan Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,285 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 2.4% of LifePlan Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,173,477 shares of company stock worth $402,596,964 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $324.77 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.47. The stock has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.