CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Acquires New Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 608 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.4 %

CRM opened at $333.47 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $336.73 and a 200-day moving average of $294.01.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.