Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.2 %

Salesforce stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $317.19. 780,203 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,306,906. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $335.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.73. The company has a market cap of $303.55 billion, a PE ratio of 52.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

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.