Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Boosted by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,407 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 0.9% of Annex Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $28,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in 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 buying an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 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 $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $324.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $337.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.80. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results 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). 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank upped 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. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.