Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Sold by Northern Financial Advisors Inc

Northern Financial Advisors Inc lessened its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,865 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $330.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $315.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $337.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.13.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction 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. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last quarter. Company 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.