Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.

AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,864 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Salesforce comprises 1.6% of AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,618,407,000 after purchasing an additional 96,381 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $326.26 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $312.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.96.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company 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 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 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.