IFG Advisory LLC Has $578,000 Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,195 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Note Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 30,849 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $8,118,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 boosted its stake in Salesforce by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 8,076 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,595 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 2,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.54, for a total value of $660,729.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares in the company, valued at $9,895,048.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 901,258 shares of company stock worth $256,569,563. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CRM opened at $301.18 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.31 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $294.19 and its 200-day moving average is $252.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.14 billion, a PE ratio of 71.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.32.

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.