Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stock Position Raised by Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC

Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,038 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $298,055.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,534,090. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock worth $383,432,020. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $332.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $336.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

About Salesforce

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.