GDS Wealth Management Purchases 1,896 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

GDS Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,766 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 1.9% of GDS Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $20,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 177 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,104,699 shares of company stock valued at $382,108,847. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (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 given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CRM opened at $339.28 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $338.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.80, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued 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 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.