Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $338.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Company 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.