Annex Advisory Services LLC Acquires 8,722 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,407 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,722 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for approximately 0.9% of Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $28,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce by 300.0% during 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 lifted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $324.77 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.80. 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 (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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current 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 paid 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 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.