Williams & Novak LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Williams & Novak LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 627 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 3.7 %

CRM stock opened at $360.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $344.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $337.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.