Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,946 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in 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 acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business's 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of CRM traded down $4.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $325.49. The company had a trading volume of 5,875,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,522,191. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $336.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.79. 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 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

About Salesforce

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.