Cibc World Market Inc. Acquires 26,464 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,938 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,464 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $76,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $91,000. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 80,591 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,944,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its stake in Salesforce by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,933 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $361,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,534,090. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim cut shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE CRM opened at $343.51 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $338.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $328.74 billion, a PE ratio of 56.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. 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.