Baker Chad R Invests $2.94 Million in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Baker Chad R purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,790 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,939,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,581 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,547,000 after acquiring an additional 7,499 shares during the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,055 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 2,336 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total value of $1,213,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,229,213.48. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,767.75. This trade represents a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $324.77 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $337.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.08. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. 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 posted 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Salesforce Company 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.