Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Purchased by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial grew its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,462 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. Salesforce makes up 0.6% of First Pacific Financial’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,653,307 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,644,718,000 after buying an additional 143,962 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,003,836 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,519,719,000 after acquiring an additional 149,012 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Salesforce by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 11,195,108 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,270,144,000 after purchasing an additional 121,436 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $1,420,381,000. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 125,717.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,260,412 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,360,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $301.41 on Thursday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.31 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $293.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $251.75. The firm has a market cap of $292.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.52%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.82, for a total transaction of $2,538,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,193,919.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 898,507 shares of company stock worth $255,293,063 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Salesforce from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.32.

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.