Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 618 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CRM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $0.49 on Monday, reaching $318.34. 2,177,881 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,533,388. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.65 billion, a PE ratio of 52.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $335.82 and its 200-day moving average is $289.73. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.87, for a total value of $1,217,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,353,653.18. This represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock worth $404,760,429. 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.