Weaver Consulting Group Invests $205,000 in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Weaver Consulting Group acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 681 shares of the CRM provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 35,220 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $9,268,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 1,567 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 7,881 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,951,415 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $1,566,055,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Salesforce by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 789,525 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $207,756,000 after buying an additional 194,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $4.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $257.10. 12,619,303 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,223,949. The firm has a market cap of $249.13 billion, a PE ratio of 46.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $318.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $259.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.20.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The CRM provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $9.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Salesforce’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Salesforce from $231.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total value of $4,525,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,011,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,925,729,005.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Parker Harris sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $1,400,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,193,087.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.72, for a total value of $4,525,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,011,166 shares in the company, valued at $3,925,729,005.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 547,387 shares of company stock valued at $151,174,635. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.