Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Holdings Lifted by Peloton Wealth Strategists

Peloton Wealth Strategists increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,905 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 3.4% of Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 14.2% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 31,664 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $8,332,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 512 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Salesforce by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 39,743 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $10,878,000 after purchasing an additional 12,294 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its position in Salesforce by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 9,491 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $294.80 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.89. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 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.