Aprio Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 35.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,945 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 816.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 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 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 price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $317.83 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $304.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $335.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.