Certuity LLC Has $2.31 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Certuity LLC lowered its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,898 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $310.55 billion, a PE ratio of 53.37, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.