Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,610 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $11,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% in the third 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. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.4 %

CRM stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $329.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $338.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.