Belmont Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Belmont Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,570 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 0.3% of Belmont Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Belmont Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 261,453 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $87,412,000 after purchasing an additional 14,406 shares during the period. Allred Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 4,394 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division now owns 1,880 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,979,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 6,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $1,762,784.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,141,957.90. This trade represents a 16.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,654 shares of company stock valued at $14,124,094. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $246.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.56. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Salesforce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Salesforce from $405.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.32.

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.