Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 360.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 373 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after buying an additional 314,530 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Salesforce by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

Salesforce stock traded down $9.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $317.63. 4,893,897 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,616,037. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. 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 has a market cap of $303.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $335.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.