Weaver Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,476 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 933 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $329.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $298.64. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded 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. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.