Americana Partners LLC Purchases 422 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,638 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.3 %

Salesforce stock opened at $325.49 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $336.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.42. 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 market cap of $311.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction of $144,874.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.