GSG Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

GSG Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,253 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. GSG Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $323.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $336.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

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.