Leavell Investment Management Inc. Purchases 650 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after acquiring an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $330.19 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $337.91 and its 200 day moving average is $302.13. The firm has a market cap of $315.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Salesforce 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.