Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Increased by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,576 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 4,075 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 10.1% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,885 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 35,960 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $7,292,000 after buying an additional 4,313 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 4,182 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 56,266 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $11,410,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the company’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 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. Insiders sold a total of 614,993 shares of company stock worth $180,212,524 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.1 %

CRM opened at $268.69 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $190.76 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.63 billion, a PE ratio of 63.97, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.30. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $295.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.67.

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

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

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.