Oak Ridge Investments LLC Buys New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,044 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,368 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,129,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bowman & Co S.C. increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 5,316 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

CRM opened at $324.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $337.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $291.80. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,767.75. This represents a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.