Worth Asset Management LLC Takes $2.81 Million Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,410 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,812,000. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.5% of Worth Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 300.0% during the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CRM shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Salesforce stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $325.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,580,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,162,639. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $334.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.99. The company has a market cap of $311.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.53, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for 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%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.