Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 639 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,616 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Salesforce by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 3,911 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,477 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,509,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,970 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,336,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of 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 represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $320.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.79, 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $337.05 and a 200-day moving average of $290.87.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid 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 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several research reports. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

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.