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

Marion Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,070 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Marion Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,575,904. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock valued at $403,542,975. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $319.39 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.19. The firm has a market capitalization 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. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

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.