Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,490 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $408,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Visionary Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 3,280 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Shariaportfolio Inc. lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 3,190 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its stake in Salesforce by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 233,052 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $61,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total transaction of $1,211,364.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 118,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,181,807.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 1,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.78, for a total value of $295,425.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,257,813.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.42, for a total value of $1,211,364.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 118,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,181,807.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,612 shares of company stock valued at $21,283,087 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:CRM traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $286.87. 658,919 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,489,163. The firm has a market cap of $277.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $260.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.68 and a twelve month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Phillip Securities restated an “accumulate” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.74.

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.