Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC Takes $211,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 631 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $324.77 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $337.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. The trade was a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.