Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,665 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,159 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,665 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $16,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 56,872.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $311,998,000 after purchasing an additional 931,566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $294.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $330.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.89. The company has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

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.