Buffington Mohr McNeal Purchases New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Buffington Mohr McNeal acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 642 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 10.9% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $273,000. Invst LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 9.8% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 16,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter worth $964,000. Finally, Connective Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,278,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE CRM opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $332.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.12, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.