SPC Financial Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM - Free Report) by 59.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,185 shares of the CRM provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.'s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $1,482,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,572 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Salesforce by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Salesforce by 171.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 56,872.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 933,204 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $311,998,000 after purchasing an additional 931,566 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider's stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company's stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $4.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $292.05. The stock had a trading volume of 6,608,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,871,845. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $279.49 billion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.35. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $212.00 and a one year high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce's payout ratio is 25.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock valued at $383,156,227. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Salesforce from $425.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $440.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Salesforce from $345.00 to $310.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirty-two have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $365.32.

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.