Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 91.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,403 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RBA Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,172 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 1,756 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 64,647 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $17,695,000 after acquiring an additional 28,532 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRM. Barclays upped their target price on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.78, for a total value of $320,072.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 120,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,886,746.74. This trade represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $328.62 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $335.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.