Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 603 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,514 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $22,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $325.81 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $338.97 and its 200 day moving average is $300.36. The company has a market cap of $311.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.