Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Invests $425,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,270 shares of the CRM provider's stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Apeiron RIA LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $264,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 25,668 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $8,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Salesforce by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,858 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,959,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock traded down $13.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $262.13. 18,963,871 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,998,623. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $268.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $252.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.42. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.03. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This is a boost from Salesforce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Salesforce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Salesforce from $400.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Salesforce from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $420.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robin L. Washington bought 1,695 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $294.61 per share, for a total transaction of $499,363.95. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,799,331.45. The trade was a 4.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.37, for a total value of $1,725,518.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $12,967,047.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,553 shares of company stock worth $12,897,323. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.