Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Purchases 878 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,778 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $341.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $338.67 and a 200 day moving average of $297.37. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (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 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 business posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.