MRA Advisory Group Sells 242 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

MRA Advisory Group reduced its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 762 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $255,905.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,100,399.70. This represents a 1.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,116 shares in the company, valued at $6,575,904. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock valued at $403,542,975. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRM. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Salesforce from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of CRM opened at $323.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.18, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $336.76 and a 200-day moving average of $290.66.

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). 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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. 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.