Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Lifted by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 1,562.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,233 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,407 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $28,220,000 after acquiring an additional 8,722 shares during the last quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. Cascade Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,875 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $658,000. Finally, Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 22,933 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $7,667,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM traded up $4.77 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $324.77. 6,283,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. The company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $337.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.02.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CRM. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.