Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,416 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on CRM shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $324.77 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $337.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.08. The stock has a market cap 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 quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.