Motive Wealth Advisors Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Motive Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,068 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MFA Wealth Services purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 143,216 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $48,083,000 after acquiring an additional 27,212 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,816 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total value of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock worth $402,840,388. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

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

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given 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 yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.