Empirical Finance LLC Sells 393 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Empirical Finance LLC decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,810 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 0.6% of Empirical Finance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $325.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $311.80 billion, a PE ratio of 53.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $338.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital lifted 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. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Company 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.