Bank Hapoalim BM Purchases 1,259 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bank Hapoalim BM boosted its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,135 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Salesforce accounts for 1.3% of Bank Hapoalim BM’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Bank Hapoalim BM’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CRM. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in Salesforce by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 120 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Salesforce by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 139 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRM. TD Cowen raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $385.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.63.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,111,420 shares of company stock valued at $384,366,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Trading Up 1.4 %

Salesforce stock opened at $344.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $329.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.59, a PEG ratio of 3.09 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $338.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.64.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

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.