Aviance Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,495 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,921 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 1,495 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.01, for a total transaction of $4,125,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,677,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,486,391,698.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.01, for a total transaction of $4,125,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,677,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,486,391,698.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 619,993 shares of company stock worth $181,241,324. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded up $1.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $275.63. 3,722,938 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,550,575. The firm has a market cap of $266.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. 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 $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $293.74 and its 200 day moving average is $267.47.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

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.