Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC

Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,079 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $733,805,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after acquiring an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after purchasing an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $326.85 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $336.97 and a 200 day moving average of $292.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $312.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (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 period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total value of $277,676.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,172,167 shares of company stock valued at $402,223,235 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.