Alterity Financial Group LLC Sells 75 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Alterity Financial Group LLC cut its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,245 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 1.6% of Alterity Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Alterity Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $301.18 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.31 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.71, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $294.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.10.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Citigroup raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Salesforce from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush raised their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James upped their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.32.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.58, for a total transaction of $2,585,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,478,857.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 901,258 shares of company stock worth $256,569,563 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.