NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ Increases Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,176 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.5% of NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 16.1% in the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $360.00 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $344.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $337.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.44%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.