Graypoint LLC Raises Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,370 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 8,210 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,745,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 360.5% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 373 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 46,266 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 75,523 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $25,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $9.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $317.83. 6,305,971 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,902,714. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $335.36 and its 200-day moving average is $288.53. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $304.16 billion, a PE ratio of 52.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.