Howland Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Howland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,768 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CRM. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $325.81 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $338.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.67. 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 $311.80 billion, a PE ratio of 53.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.