Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Boosts Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,574 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after buying an additional 257,501 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,360,215,000 after acquiring an additional 314,530 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 8,329,687 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,141,562,000 after acquiring an additional 176,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Up 1.5 %

CRM stock opened at $324.77 on Monday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.82, for a total value of $1,213,044.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,229,213.48. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 6,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.75, for a total transaction of $1,785,149.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,767.75. The trade was a 86.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,183,838 shares of company stock valued at $405,595,158 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Northland Capmk raised Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

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.