Johnson Financial Group Inc. Purchases 592 Shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,740 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,504 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 10,377 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 353 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Salesforce Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:CRM traded down $6.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $272.29. 8,325,132 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,819,083. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $286.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.60. The company has a market cap of $263.58 billion, a PE ratio of 64.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total value of $4,042,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.53, for a total value of $4,042,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,707,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,005,846.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 2,474 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.59, for a total transaction of $731,289.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,858,365.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 636,344 shares of company stock valued at $184,877,874. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRM shares. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.94.

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.