Golden Road Advisors LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Golden Road Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 605 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in 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. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.3 %

CRM stock opened at $326.95 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $338.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.03. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $312.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.77, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRM. UBS Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on 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 given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.