Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,164 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up about 2.0% of Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CRM. Citigroup increased their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $328.62 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.52. The company has a market capitalization of $314.49 billion, a PE ratio of 54.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

About Salesforce

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.