783 Shares in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Purchased by Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 783 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,473 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $12,194,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the period. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $297.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $329.11 and its 200 day moving average is $307.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $369.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.16%.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total value of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,102,572 shares of company stock valued at $381,283,706 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Salesforce from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $415.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.32.

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.