Lyell Wealth Management LP Has $15.95 Million Holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Lyell Wealth Management LP decreased its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,607 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after selling 516 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for about 1.8% of Lyell Wealth Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $15,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 60,030 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $16,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $247,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Salesforce by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,859 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Salesforce by 733.3% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $406,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,040,011.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 4,096 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total value of $1,118,822.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,290 shares in the company, valued at $13,463,563.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 616,589 shares of company stock worth $181,071,306. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $276.19. The company had a trading volume of 3,934,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,697,396. The stock has a market cap of $267.90 billion, a PE ratio of 65.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.57 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. TheStreet raised Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.