Ellsworth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1,562.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,233 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 owns 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,128,626.68. This 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 have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

CRM stock opened at $324.77 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.80.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 currently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.