Bray Capital Advisors Sells 2,500 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bray Capital Advisors lowered its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,596 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 1.4% of Bray Capital Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Bray Capital Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.84.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $318.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $334.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.76. The firm has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a PE ratio of 52.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce 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 $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.