Sonoma Private Wealth LLC Takes $326,000 Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Sonoma Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 976 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,254 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 56,872.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $311,998,000 after purchasing an additional 931,566 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total transaction of $141,050.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,864 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,936.08. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 %

Salesforce stock opened at $297.63 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $284.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.32.

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.