Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Forbes J M & Co. LLP

Forbes J M & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.2% 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 36,719 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $12,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $325.81 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $339.05 and its 200 day moving average is $299.87. 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 firm has a market cap of $311.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. 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.