Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Group LLC

Manning & Napier Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 43.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 262,094 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 201,986 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Group LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $68,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,712 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 12,133 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $3,193,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Point Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,298 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.1 %

CRM traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $301.18. 4,892,275 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,832,268. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a PE ratio of 71.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.31 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The stock's 50-day moving average is $294.72 and its 200 day moving average is $252.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Salesforce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $304.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total transaction of $4,521,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,041,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,931,259,490.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 2,536 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.54, for a total value of $660,729.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,895,048.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.45, for a total value of $4,521,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,041,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,931,259,490.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 901,258 shares of company stock worth $256,569,563 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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