Secure Asset Management LLC Acquires 380 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 380 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 476,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $122,060,000 after acquiring an additional 65,498 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,378,826 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,125,331,000 after acquiring an additional 877,495 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP grew its position in Salesforce by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 544,692 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $140,040,000 after acquiring an additional 23,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its holdings in Salesforce by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 54,205 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,936,000 after purchasing an additional 13,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,586,572.08. The trade was a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

CRM stock opened at $334.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 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. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $336.50 and its 200-day moving average is $293.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

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.