Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,477 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter worth $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $322.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.66. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $308.54 billion, a PE ratio of 53.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company 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 was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

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.