Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 151,396 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 384,509 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 151,396 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $98,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,566,055,000 after acquiring an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after acquiring an additional 194,224 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP grew its stake in Salesforce by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $119,420,000 after purchasing an additional 90,616 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of CRM opened at $265.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $257.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.68 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 4,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.50, for a total transaction of $1,060,644.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total value of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.