Clarendon Private LLC Takes $770,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,302 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Cfra set a $343.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares in the company, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $333.47 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market capitalization of $319.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.85, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.01.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.