Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,932 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. RAM Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD raised its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. raised its position in Salesforce by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 57,543 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $19,238,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthstar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $625,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.3 %

CRM opened at $326.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.