Apeiron RIA LLC Acquires New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Apeiron RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 791 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position 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 during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CRM. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

Salesforce stock opened at $333.47 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.00 and a 1-year high of $369.00. 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 moving average price is $336.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.49. The company has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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 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 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $145,115.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 708 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $235,254.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,694.92. This trade represents a 36.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.