CX Institutional Has $1.96 Million Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,858 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE CRM opened at $333.47 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $336.56 and a 200-day moving average of $293.49.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.