Csenge Advisory Group Has $1.27 Million Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Csenge Advisory Group lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,799 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $325.49 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $311.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 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 yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.