Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Buys New Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 609 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $15,885,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Salesforce by 8.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRM shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM opened at $309.54 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $296.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.91, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $333.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.25.

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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.