Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 242 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,055 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CRM. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $347.41 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $338.69 and a 200-day moving average of $299.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last released 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.