Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $1.82 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,442 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $733,805,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $757,632,000 after buying an additional 994,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce 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 directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,229,213.48. This represents a 3.42 % 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 worth $405,595,158. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $337.31 and a 200-day moving average of $291.56.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.