Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Invests $250,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 747 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd 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 grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $341.80 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $338.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.75. The company has a market cap of $327.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a PEG 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 announced 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share 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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price objective (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $235,254.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This represents a 36.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,108,669 shares of company stock valued at $383,286,905. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.