Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by Zullo Investment Group Inc.

Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,393 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the third quarter worth $204,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth $2,668,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Salesforce by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC raised its position in Salesforce by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $12,190,000 after purchasing an additional 8,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,538 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total value of $144,874.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,344,899.96. The trade was a 5.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,117,641 shares of company stock worth $386,408,308 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $324.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $310.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.32, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $335.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.66. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CRM shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.84.

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.