Bleakley Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,114 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $9,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $13,432,855,000 after purchasing an additional 864,193 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Salesforce by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,276,551 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,360,215,000 after purchasing an additional 314,530 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,964,702 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,632,599,000 after acquiring an additional 57,825 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,912,854 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,618,407,000 after acquiring an additional 96,381 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CRM opened at $347.41 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $332.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $338.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.31. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $368.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 increased their price objective on Salesforce from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.63.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In related news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $343.00, for a total transaction of $2,133,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474,323. The trade was a 10.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total transaction of $5,019,171.60. 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 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.