Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 1,694 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 84,147 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.9% of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $28,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $1,872,521.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $292.05 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $325.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Profile

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.