639 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Acquired by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 639 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.53.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $309.54 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $333.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.