Brueske Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Brueske Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 839 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CRM opened at $307.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $293.98 billion, a PE ratio of 50.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $330.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.97. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total transaction of $320,072.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 120,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. The trade was a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 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 value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CRM. Guggenheim cut Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $405.00 price target on Salesforce in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given 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 a consensus target price of $374.47.

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.