Cascade Investment Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,875 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $324.77 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $337.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.80.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.