Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.56, for a total value of $277,676.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,172,167 shares of company stock worth $402,223,235 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $326.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $312.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $336.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.