New Century Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,695 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Salesforce

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total transaction of $4,530,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,936,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,907,110,216.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.03, for a total value of $4,530,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,936,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,907,110,216.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 2,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.15, for a total transaction of $662,388.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 499,152 shares of company stock worth $136,281,661. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Salesforce from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Salesforce from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Salesforce from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 price target on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.79.

Salesforce Stock Performance

CRM stock traded up $4.76 on Thursday, hitting $260.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,755,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,006,645. The stock has a market cap of $252.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $258.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick 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.

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

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be paid 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 0.61%. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 7.19%.

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.