1834 Investment Advisors Co. Has $936,000 Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

1834 Investment Advisors Co. cut its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,800 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. M3 Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,104 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,381,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $770,000. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,741 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $333.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $336.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.01. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. The trade was a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 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.