Atomi Financial Group Inc. Purchases 2,885 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,884 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,885 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 0.4% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC boosted its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRM. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp upgraded Salesforce from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $324.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $336.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.47. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.00 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.81 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.29, for a total value of $117,824.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,741.74. This trade represents a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,173,477 shares of company stock worth $402,596,964. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

About Salesforce

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.