J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $3.43 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,266 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.3 %

Salesforce stock opened at $325.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.49 billion, a PE ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % 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, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.