JNBA Financial Advisors Acquires 201 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

JNBA Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,763 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors’ holdings in Salesforce were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 22,818 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 32,673 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $10,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,262 shares in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 8,634 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,945 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of CRM opened at $325.49 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $311.49 billion, a PE ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $336.56 and its 200 day moving average is $302.79.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.