W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 38.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $330.19 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $315.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.13. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,705,195. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.