Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 725 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% in 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 period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $324.50 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $310.55 billion, a PE ratio of 53.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $338.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 target price on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.