Goldstone Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 757 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 757 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $733,805,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 51.0% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Salesforce by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after buying an additional 877,495 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $337.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.08. 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 market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This trade represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.