Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Grows Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,523 shares of the CRM provider's stock after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises approximately 1.7% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Salesforce were worth $25,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 909,821 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $233,915,000 after purchasing an additional 41,630 shares in the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter. Campbell Wealth Management now owns 871 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 250,647 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $64,441,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 87,120 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $22,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

CRM stock traded down $9.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $317.83. 6,534,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,919,533. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $335.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.