Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Acquires 403 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,901 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $145,115.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,236.38. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $298,055.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,534,090. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,109,169 shares of company stock valued at $383,432,020 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $347.26 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $332.33 billion, a PE ratio of 57.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $336.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.