Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $28.81 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,162 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 1.0% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $28,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $325.49 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $311.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.53, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $336.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.42.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim lowered Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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. One investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.