Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 42,048 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,058,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the second quarter worth 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 in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of 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 stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $320.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $307.18 billion, a PE ratio of 52.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $337.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.87.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.88, for a total value of $2,052,183.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,128,626.68. This trade represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total transaction of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.