Cypress Wealth Services LLC Buys New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cypress Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 741 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd 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 increased 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 last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $324.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $337.25 and its 200 day moving average is $291.08.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CRM. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.