SPC Financial Inc. Acquires 1,190 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 59.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,185 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Salesforce by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 87 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Salesforce during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $287.10 on Wednesday. Salesforce, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.00 and a twelve month high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $274.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $326.96 and its 200-day moving average is $308.33.

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). Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. The company had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is presently 25.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 317,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,162,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,696,838.46. This trade represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $1,872,521.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,071,750. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,108,793 shares of company stock worth $383,156,227. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CRM shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim restated a “sell” rating and issued a $247.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $375.00 to $367.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Salesforce has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.32.

Salesforce 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.