Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 128.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,213 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Salesforce in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CRM. StockNews.com downgraded Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Salesforce from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.61.

Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Brian Millham sold 24,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.08, for a total value of $7,386,762.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 942 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.46, for a total value of $287,743.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,040,011.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 644,699 shares of company stock valued at $187,503,574 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of CRM traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $283.79. 3,308,208 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,311,466. The company has a market capitalization of $274.71 billion, a PE ratio of 67.57, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.30. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.68. Salesforce, Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $318.71.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.52%.

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.