Simplicity Solutions LLC Sells 8,018 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM – Free Report) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,052 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 8,018 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.77, for a total value of $4,046,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,791,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,720,442,851.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 2,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total transaction of $893,934.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,687,877.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.77, for a total transaction of $4,046,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,791,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,442,851.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 907,375 shares of company stock valued at $262,519,346 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Salesforce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 21st. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.77.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Salesforce
Salesforce Trading Down 1.6 %
CRM stock traded down $4.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $294.32. 3,819,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,433,955. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $298.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.98. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.45 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.28.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. 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.
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