Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $1.82 Million Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,442 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM opened at $324.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $337.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.56.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total transaction of $2,052,183.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock worth $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.