Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,387 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RBA Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,637 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 233,743 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $63,978,000 after acquiring an additional 17,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim downgraded Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.8 %

CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $338.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.53. The company has a market cap of $310.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.37, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. 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.