Bill Few Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bill Few Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 624 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position 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 during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 135.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $332.67 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $336.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.72, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.04, for a total transaction of $1,251,768.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 119,402 shares in the company, valued at $35,586,572.08. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of 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. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,171,198 shares of company stock worth $401,945,558 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.