Hickory Asset Management Inc. Takes $492,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,472 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $2.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $328.62. 5,253,924 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,249,068. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $336.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.93. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $314.49 billion, a PE ratio of 54.05, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.