True North Advisors LLC Purchases 12,146 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

True North Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 673.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,949 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,146 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 1.1% of True North Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.9% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 23,264 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,981,000 after acquiring an additional 4,635 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 403.4% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 9,485 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 736,459 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $189,344,000 after purchasing an additional 102,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unisphere Establishment grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.9% during the second quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 559,000 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $143,719,000 after purchasing an additional 68,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total value of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,171,198 shares of company stock worth $401,945,558 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $332.67 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $336.68 and a 200 day moving average of $292.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $318.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Salesforce 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.