Augustine Asset Management Inc. Has $2.42 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 88.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,246 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,406 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 0.6% of Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RBA Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.0% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,637 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 233,743 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $63,978,000 after purchasing an additional 17,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $310.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.37, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $338.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total transaction of $2,089,882.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,705,195. The trade was a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.