Signet Financial Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,890 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 401.0% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 481 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 20.8% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 11,103 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $387,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 5.8% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 2,367 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Salesforce by 1.9% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 54,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,428,121.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 5,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total transaction of $1,611,251.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,428,121.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 541,787 shares of company stock valued at $149,773,683 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock opened at $252.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.13 billion, a PE ratio of 45.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.33. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.68 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 15.30%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 7.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, May 24th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective (down from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

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.