Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,610 shares of the CRM provider's stock after selling 6,092 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,764,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,040,011.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 629,193 shares of company stock valued at $183,088,748 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating 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, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $276.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,954,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,412,581. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $290.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.17. The firm has a market cap of $267.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.90, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.68 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.