Financial Perspectives Inc Purchases 104 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 46.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM opened at $328.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $314.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.05, 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. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $335.64 and its 200-day moving average is $304.52.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $216,646.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,361,054.76. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.