Rep. Josh Gottheimer Purchases Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently bought shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM). In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Salesforce stock on December 13th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) on 12/30/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 12/30/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Grupo Financiero Banorte (OTCMKTS:GBOOY) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cadre (NYSE:CDRE) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Coloplast A/S (OTCMKTS:CLPBY) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) on 12/23/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Trane Technologies (NYSE:TT) on 12/23/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) on 12/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 12/19/2024.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $321.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $307.21 billion, a PE ratio of 52.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $336.76 and its 200-day moving average is $290.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,767.75. The trade was a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third 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. Umpqua Bank grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2016. Prior to his election, Gottheimer worked for Microsoft, the Federal Communications Commission, and for the administration of President Bill Clinton (D). Click here for more information about Gottheimer’s career. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where is a member of three subcommittees. For more on Gottheimer’s committee assignments, click here. Gottheimer became a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in February 2017. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

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.