Meyer Handelman Co. Buys 70 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,030 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.39, for a total transaction of $249,997.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,079,246.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.39, for a total transaction of $249,997.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,079,246.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 12,249 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.94, for a total value of $3,245,250.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,062,156.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,169,296 shares of company stock valued at $326,477,726. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE CRM traded down $1.71 on Monday, hitting $306.06. 4,117,868 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,844,746. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.17 and a 200 day moving average of $250.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.31 and a twelve month high of $318.71. The company has a market capitalization of $296.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

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.