Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 46.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,391 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 27,528 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $10,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nvest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD increased its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 787 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $292.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.02 billion, a PE ratio of 48.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.16. 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 (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.16%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $294.61 per share, with a total value of $499,363.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $12,799,331.45. This trade represents a 4.06 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRM. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Salesforce from $430.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie cut their price objective on Salesforce from $370.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

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.