Gries Financial LLC Acquires 187 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Gries Financial LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,391 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $638,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Salesforce by 130.7% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 187,072 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $48,096,000 after purchasing an additional 105,972 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,709 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 12,464 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $343.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $328.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.50, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $338.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.43. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 in the last three months. 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.