Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Abel Hall LLC

Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,114 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Abel Hall LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during 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 during the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $354.14 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $337.96 and its 200-day moving average is $296.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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 during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

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.