Coastwise Capital Group LLC Has $1.79 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC lowered its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,347 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.4% of Coastwise Capital Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Coastwise Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $343.51 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.75. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $328.74 billion, a PE ratio of 56.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 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 (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued 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 yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This represents a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRM. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.