Savant Capital LLC Buys 3,595 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,576 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,595 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $4,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Price Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $268.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.97, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.30. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52-week low of $190.76 and a 52-week high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $295.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.67.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CRM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.82, for a total transaction of $4,287,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,581,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,768,866.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 614,993 shares of company stock worth $180,212,524 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.