Stonegate Investment Group LLC Has $2.80 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Street Partners LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company 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.