Private Wealth Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,941 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $2,668,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 24.8% in the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,190,000 after acquiring an additional 8,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,538 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total value of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,342,415. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,202,758.58. This trade represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,117,641 shares of company stock worth $386,408,308 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.19 on Thursday. 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 50 day moving average of $335.02 and a 200-day moving average of $304.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid 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 payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.84.

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.