Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,477 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $322.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.66. The company has a market cap of $308.54 billion, a PE ratio of 53.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRM. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,767.75. The trade was a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Company 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.