Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 68.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,765 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the 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 directly owns 45,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. The trade was a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE CRM traded up $4.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $324.77. 6,283,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,604,853. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $337.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.56. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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%. Salesforce's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued 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 an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce 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.