Ballast Inc. Sells 242 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ballast Inc. cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,360,428,000 after buying an additional 10,252,257 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $401,215,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $352,498,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 99.7% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $675,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595,733 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 2,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.54, for a total value of $660,729.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,895,048.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 2,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.54, for a total value of $660,729.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,895,048.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 901,258 shares of company stock worth $256,569,563 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE CRM opened at $301.18 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.31 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.71, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $294.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

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.