Otter Creek Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Otter Creek Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,187,000. Salesforce accounts for approximately 2.9% of Otter Creek Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 14.2% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 1,578 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.47.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $307.19 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 cap of $293.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $330.86 and its 200 day moving average is $306.97. 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 announced 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

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.