Xponance Inc. Sells 4,556 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Xponance Inc. decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 4,556 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.6% of Xponance Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $51,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,420,381,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $401,215,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,595,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded down $4.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $271.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,746,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,688,916. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.10 and a 200-day moving average of $260.89. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.57 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $263.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to 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 at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,347,848.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 907,149 shares of company stock valued at $262,952,448 in the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.