Modera Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,900 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,559 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $297.63 on Monday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $329.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.95. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The company 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 period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce 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 directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce 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.