Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Bought by FPC Investment Advisory Inc.

FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1,246.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 202 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $69,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $733,805,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,433,785 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,482,347,000 after buying an additional 1,530,572 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in Salesforce by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,829,773 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,280,408,000 after buying an additional 1,219,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Salesforce by 171.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,634,834 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $447,470,000 after buying an additional 1,032,068 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Salesforce by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,007,404 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $13,432,855,000 after buying an additional 864,193 shares during the period. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.28, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 5.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total transaction of $109,965,671.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Salesforce stock opened at $309.54 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $296.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $333.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.72.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Citigroup upped 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Salesforce from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $247.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $375.53.

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.