Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Shares Acquired by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,849 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 333 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $8,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CRM. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Salesforce in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 333.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 130 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 270 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Salesforce during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total transaction of $4,733,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,311,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,200,205,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 12,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.94, for a total transaction of $3,245,250.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,062,156.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.54, for a total value of $4,733,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,311,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,200,205,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 898,507 shares of company stock worth $255,293,063. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Salesforce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Salesforce from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.32.

Salesforce Stock Down 1.4 %

CRM opened at $301.41 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $293.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $292.37 billion, a PE ratio of 71.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.31 and a 52 week high of $318.71.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 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.