Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 12,171 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,494 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,171 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,270,144,000 after buying an additional 121,436 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,251,891 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,064,978,000 after purchasing an additional 19,888 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Salesforce by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,678,330 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $948,676,000 after purchasing an additional 309,881 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 1,254.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,483,670 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $916,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226,512 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,198,494 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $648,591,000 after buying an additional 444,652 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $275.86. 3,608,431 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,637,167. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.58 billion, a PE ratio of 65.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $295.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.20. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $190.76 and a 12 month high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $2,852,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,230,643.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 610,793 shares of company stock valued at $179,197,018 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

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.