Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Trims Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,503 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 2,418 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $21,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CRM shares. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price target (up from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $255.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $341.87.

Salesforce Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $12.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $263.17. The company had a trading volume of 17,916,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,995,003. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $268.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.79. The company has a market capitalization of $253.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.74 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.10%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,909 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.58, for a total value of $543,263.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,599.80. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin L. Washington acquired 1,695 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,331.45. This trade represents a 4.06% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock valued at $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.