United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 50 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,351 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth $53,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $333.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $319.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. 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 $336.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.60.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total value of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,173,891 shares of company stock valued at $402,840,388. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Cfra set a $343.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

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.