Naviter Wealth LLC Acquires 738 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,932 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.95, for a total transaction of $4,244,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,626,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,855,523,669.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.20, for a total transaction of $2,852,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,230,643.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.95, for a total value of $4,244,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,626,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,855,523,669.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 610,793 shares of company stock valued at $179,197,018. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $273.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $190.76 and a 52 week high of $318.71. The firm has a market cap of $265.64 billion, a PE ratio of 65.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $295.69 and its 200-day moving average is $265.20.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.