Peloton Wealth Strategists Grows Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Peloton Wealth Strategists grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,905 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for 3.4% of Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 14.2% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Salesforce by 1.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 31,664 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,332,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 27.4% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 512 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Salesforce by 44.8% in the third quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 39,743 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $10,878,000 after purchasing an additional 12,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its position in Salesforce by 57.2% in the third quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 9,491 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,936.08. This trade represents a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $294.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.49, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. 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 moving average price of $330.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.89. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have assigned 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 $365.32.

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.