Calamos Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 296,348 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,522 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $99,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

Salesforce stock opened at $339.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $324.69 billion, a PE ratio of 55.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.30. 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 fifty day moving average of $338.67 and a 200 day moving average of $297.99. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 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 $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 (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,104,699 shares of company stock valued at $382,108,847 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.