Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Sells 3,150 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 75.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,050 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 3,150 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th 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. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,347,848.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,848.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 581,595 shares of company stock worth $171,584,072 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $279.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $271.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $297.28 and its 200-day moving average is $262.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.57 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

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.