2,946 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Acquired by Sovran Advisors LLC

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,946 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $953,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $167,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,758.58. This represents a 7.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $15,128,626.68. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CRM shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. 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 fifty day moving average of $338.89 and a 200 day moving average of $301.53. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

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.