Financial Life Planners Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 1,906 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000. Salesforce comprises 0.5% of Financial Life Planners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Salesforce by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $341.80 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $338.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.99. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $327.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.22, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend 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%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total value of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,431,349.48. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,108,669 shares of company stock worth $383,286,905 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.