Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 297,472 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 1.9% of Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $99,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Salesforce by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,733 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,255,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 59,651 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $19,943,000 after acquiring an additional 21,566 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Wealth Management Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Cannon Wealth Management Services LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV raised its holdings in Salesforce by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 5,654 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dover Advisors LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 6,739 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

CRM stock opened at $309.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $333.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.18. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. The trade was a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102,114 shares of company stock valued at $381,142,656. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.53.

About Salesforce

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.