Trinity Financial Advisors LLC Buys 216 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Trinity Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,218 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $733,805,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Salesforce by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,906,877 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,518,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922,674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $447,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 23,664.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after purchasing an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,946,838 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $757,632,000 after purchasing an additional 994,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM traded down $9.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $317.83. 6,281,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,701,925. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $335.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.53.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during 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%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. This trade represents a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total value of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,181,817 shares of company stock valued at $404,760,429. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.