Secure Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $334.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. 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 has a market capitalization of $320.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.