Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Boosted by Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,394 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises about 2.3% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $7,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,632,599,000 after buying an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,618,407,000 after buying an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,705,195. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $325.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $336.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.79. The company has a market capitalization of $311.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. 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 fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend 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%.

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.