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

Variant Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nvest Financial LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. OMC Financial Services LTD now owns 11,390 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,684,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock worth $381,389,136. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.53.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.8 %

CRM stock opened at $309.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $333.34 and its 200 day moving average is $305.25. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

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.