Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 376.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,589 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,205 shares during the quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. RNC Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $66,695,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $330.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $316.31 billion, a PE ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $339.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.65. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.