Moseley Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Moseley Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,524 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acropolis Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $122,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 30,708 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $10,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. The trade was a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $323.31 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $336.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $376.05.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.