Apriem Advisors Acquires New Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Apriem Advisors bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 894 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.47.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,936.08. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $307.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $293.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.97.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Salesforce Company 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.