SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC Has $6.71 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,080 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 1.4% of SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after purchasing an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CRM opened at $341.80 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.22, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $338.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 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.