MFA Wealth Services Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

MFA Wealth Services acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 651 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

CRM opened at $334.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $336.50 and a 200 day moving average of $293.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $320.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total value of $1,251,768.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,586,572.08. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Salesforce

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.