Marion Wealth Management Raises Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Marion Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,070 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Marion Wealth Management’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Salesforce in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 206 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE CRM opened at $319.39 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $336.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $305.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.53, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock valued at $403,542,975. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.05.

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.