Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Stake Raised by Miracle Mile Advisors LLC

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,342 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $6,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Salesforce by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 21,263 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 10,743 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,762,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its position in Salesforce by 197.3% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 223 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up previously from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, 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 value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total value of $1,785,149.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $280,767.75. This trade represents a 86.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $319.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $305.66 billion, a PE ratio of 52.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.19.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.