Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 63.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $77,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 60,522 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $18,156,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,171,198 shares of company stock worth $401,945,558 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $332.67 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $318.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $336.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.92. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. 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 issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio 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.