Friedenthal Financial Acquires Shares of 165 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 165 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Salesforce by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.6% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 21,263 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.2% during the second quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.0% in the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 10,743 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its position in Salesforce by 197.3% in the second quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 223 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,767.75. This trade represents a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock valued at $403,542,975. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $319.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $305.66 billion, a PE ratio of 52.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $336.25 and a 200-day moving average of $290.19. 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.