Nilsine Partners LLC Acquires 323 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nilsine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,463 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,754 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 1,200 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.12, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.60. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.