Central Valley Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,580 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 1.0% of Central Valley Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Central Valley Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $320.99 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $337.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.18 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Company 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.