Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Cohen Investment Advisors LLC

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,222 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Salesforce comprises 2.3% of Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $320.99 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $337.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.87. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.18 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). 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 analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.