SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,149 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 426.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,123 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $297.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.58. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

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.