Neumann Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Neumann Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 600 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank raised its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 3,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.74, for a total transaction of $1,178,057.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,431,349.48. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $334.75 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $320.36 billion, a PE ratio of 55.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. 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 fifty day moving average of $336.50 and a 200-day moving average of $293.20.

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 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%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRM. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.