Zhang Financial LLC Invests $370,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,406 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Fairfield Bush & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,468 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 24,037 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,104,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 42.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 621 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $455,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 860,950 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $182,797,000 after buying an additional 151,440 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.55, for a total value of $4,238,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,731,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,740,953.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,074 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.00, for a total value of $2,009,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $11,074,012. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.55, for a total value of $4,238,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,731,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,740,953.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 628,184 shares of company stock valued at $184,794,698. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised their price target on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.87.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $270.45 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $190.57 and a 12-month high of $318.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $297.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.52%.

Salesforce Company 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.