Root Financial Partners LLC Has $781,000 Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,335 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,572 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Salesforce by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $330.19 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $337.91 and its 200 day moving average is $302.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $315.99 billion, a PE ratio of 54.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.