Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 88.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $59,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock valued at $403,542,975 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $323.31 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.18, a PEG ratio of 3.20 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’s fifty day moving average is $336.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.66.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.