Hartline Investment Corp Takes Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Hartline Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 33,071 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,057,000. Salesforce accounts for 1.3% of Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. Core Alternative Capital grew its holdings in Salesforce by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 188 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Salesforce by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,358 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 45,388 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,193,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Salesforce by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 137 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM stock opened at $326.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $338.97 and its 200-day moving average is $301.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $312.89 billion, a PE ratio of 53.77, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.00 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Salesforce from $390.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,344,899.96. This represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.