Acropolis Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Acropolis Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 365 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $122,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,420 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 30,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $10,267,000 after buying an additional 4,704 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,721 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $4,922,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Erste Group Bank raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Securities restated an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.05.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total value of $1,213,044.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,229,213.48. The trade was a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,177,617 shares of company stock worth $403,542,975. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $321.01 on Thursday. 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 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The firm has a market cap of $307.21 billion, a PE ratio of 52.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $336.76 and its 200-day moving average is $290.66.

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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders 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 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.