Simon Quick Advisors LLC Buys 903 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,226 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.7 %

CRM opened at $326.85 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $336.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.47. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a market cap of $312.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30. 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 posted 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). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,172,167 shares of company stock worth $402,223,235. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.