Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Essex Investment Management Co. LLC

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC cut its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,205 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 6,255 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up 1.6% of Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.63, for a total value of $4,179,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,632,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,519,745,272.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares in the company, valued at $11,903,561.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.63, for a total transaction of $4,179,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,632,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,519,745,272.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 624,193 shares of company stock valued at $182,005,898. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $276.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,912,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,305,688. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.68 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $267.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.09.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Salesforce 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.

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