Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,367 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,102,114 shares of company stock worth $381,142,656. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.8 %

CRM opened at $309.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $333.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.18. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.