Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Abner Herrman & Brock LLC

Abner Herrman & Brock LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,267 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 688 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up about 3.2% of Abner Herrman & Brock LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $25,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $341.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $338.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.66.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. The trade was a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’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 $298,055.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. UBS Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.