Wealth Alliance Lowers Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Wealth Alliance decreased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,563 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 788 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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 shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $401,215,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,196,861 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $675,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595,733 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock traded up $6.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $279.12. The stock had a trading volume of 4,978,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,689,304. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $298.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $190.57 and a one year high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $270.75 billion, a PE ratio of 65.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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 Dividend Announcement

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 dividend yield of 0.57%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 293,965 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $82,310,200.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 897,375 shares of company stock worth $260,206,096 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.