Northstar Advisory Group LLC Buys 673 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.7% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. EWA LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE:CRM opened at $319.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $305.66 billion, a PE ratio of 52.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

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). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share 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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRM. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 969 shares in the company, valued at $280,767.75. The trade was a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce 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.