Aveo Capital Partners LLC Purchases 118 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,763 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of 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 trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $325.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $311.49 billion, a PE ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $336.56 and its 200-day moving average is $302.79.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.63.

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.