Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 28.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,274 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 138,498 shares of company stock worth $40,983,349 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, FBN Securities raised shares of Salesforce to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.24.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $359.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,268,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,388,337. The company has a 50 day moving average of $316.14 and a 200 day moving average of $275.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $344.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-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 results 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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s payout ratio 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.