Nelson Capital Management LLC Buys 143 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Nelson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,182 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 15.0% in the 4th 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. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.7 %

CRM stock opened at $306.02 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $292.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $331.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.97. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Salesforce

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.