USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,105 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nvest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Salesforce Stock Down 2.4 %
Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $8.42 on Thursday, hitting $345.58. 4,569,470 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,174,833. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm's 50-day moving average is $338.53 and its 200 day moving average is $296.43. The stock has a market cap of $330.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.78, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.
Salesforce Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce
In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This trade represents a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.63.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on CRM
About Salesforce
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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.
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