Global Retirement Partners LLC Buys 1,341 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,366 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CRM opened at $328.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $314.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.31. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $335.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.52.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.32%.

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, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.94, for a total value of $2,089,882.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,705,195. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock worth $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.63.

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.