Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Position Boosted by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 56,872.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 933,204 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 931,566 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Salesforce worth $311,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 1,578 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Salesforce by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Salesforce from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.47.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, Director G Mason Morfit sold 722,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.11, for a total transaction of $249,995,253.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,192,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,104,786,234.99. This represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.78, for a total value of $109,965,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,102,572 shares of company stock worth $381,283,706. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRM opened at $307.19 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $330.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.97. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, 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.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

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