AA Financial Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,340 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Nvest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares in the company, valued at $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $343.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $328.74 billion, a PE ratio of 56.50, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $338.53 and its 200 day moving average is $296.43. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.