Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 5,178 Shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Riverbridge Partners LLC cut its holdings in Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,178 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 5,178 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $79,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,955,353 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,656,078,000 after acquiring an additional 175,035 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,453,872 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $4,163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 177,321 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,224,927 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,752,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,667 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,599,867,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Salesforce by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,938,536 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,988,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,233 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.34, for a total transaction of $514,686.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,190 shares in the company, valued at $8,416,644.60. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 1,256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.31, for a total value of $318,157.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,826 shares in the company, valued at $3,248,954.06. The trade was a 8.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,992 shares of company stock worth $6,704,198 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $404.00 price objective (up previously from $393.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $423.00 to $396.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $349.08.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $2.51 on Monday, reaching $263.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,275,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,501,264. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $251.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.18, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $268.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 16.08%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.98%.

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.