Account Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Account Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 970 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000. Salesforce comprises 0.3% of Account Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 333.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.4 %

CRM stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $274.29. 3,754,585 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,162,527. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.76 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $295.97 and a 200-day moving average of $264.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.28.

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, 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 the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.58%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 9.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,483 shares in the company, valued at $11,903,561.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total transaction of $287,743.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 7,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.32, for a total value of $2,188,439.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,483 shares in the company, valued at $11,903,561.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 620,793 shares of company stock worth $182,177,918. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.