Cypress Wealth Services LLC Buys New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cypress Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 741 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

Salesforce stock opened at $324.77 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. 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 50-day moving average of $337.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.08.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.