Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 3,354 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 51.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,919 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

CRM stock opened at $325.49 on Tuesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $311.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.42.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This represents a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.