Quest Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Quest Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,514 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 12,927 shares during the quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management increased its holdings in Salesforce by 66.3% in the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 18,397 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, XN LP lifted its stake in Salesforce by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. XN LP now owns 464,489 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $119,420,000 after acquiring an additional 90,616 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $266.80 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $258.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $254.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.44.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.32, for a total transaction of $228,265.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,368,357.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.04, for a total transaction of $1,079,568.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 117,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,223,020.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,576 shares of company stock valued at $16,957,573 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce 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.