Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,677 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 8,398 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 0.4% of Yousif Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $39,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, 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 valued at $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $338.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.64. 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. The company has a market cap of $329.28 billion, a PE ratio of 56.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.