Private Advisor Group LLC Buys 2,261 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,107 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $18,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM traded up $1.97 on Monday, hitting $275.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,722,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,550,575. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.47. The firm has a market cap of $266.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Salesforce from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total value of $4,324,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,551,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,906,801,157.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 4,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.93, for a total transaction of $1,137,906.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 115,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,363,398.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.30, for a total transaction of $4,324,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,551,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,906,801,157.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 619,993 shares of company stock valued at $181,241,324 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.