Horizon Investment Services LLC Acquires 1,237 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,243 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 1.7% of Horizon Investment Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 186.7% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its position in Salesforce by 333.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total transaction of $4,303,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,512,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,589,786,616.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider R David Schmaier sold 3,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.77, for a total value of $1,074,350.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,347,848.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.90, for a total transaction of $4,303,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,512,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,589,786,616.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 439,152 shares of company stock valued at $118,115,911. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM traded up $2.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $253.97. The company had a trading volume of 4,705,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,559,879. The company has a fifty day moving average of $256.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.68 and a 12 month high of $318.71. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.78%.

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.