HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 367,016 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,955 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $100,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 2,400.0% in the second quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 100 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 816.7% during the second quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 110 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 3,125.0% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 129 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.2 %

CRM stock opened at $331.77 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $348.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $304.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $271.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $317.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 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 27.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Salesforce from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Salesforce from $290.00 to $368.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $345.31.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $255,905.13. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 52,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,100,399.70. The trade was a 1.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,982 shares of company stock valued at $41,591,457 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.